Christopher Bell held off Brad Keselowski to score his second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and third of the season, in Saturday’s Lakes Region 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Bell led a race-high 93 laps, including the final 19, en route to becoming the first non-Cup driver to win at 1.058-mile track since Martin Truex Jr. in 2005.
“I was able to get a really good launch on the restart, so, you know, that was really the key there,” Bell said. “I think he had a little bit better car than us, but pretty much all through practice we were really equal, so this place has been really good to me in the past.
“To be able to run with the guys like running with Kyle (Busch) last week and then now Keselowski, it’s, you know, you – at one point – you hope to race those guys at one point, so I’m thankful that I get the opportunity here in the Xfinity Series to race with them and proud that I’m able to compete with them let alone beat them.”
Keselowski, who had to start at the rear of the field for missing the drivers meeting, did all he could to chase down Bell in the closing laps.
“It was a good race,” Keselowski said. “Christopher drove really well. It seemed like the 20 car and our 22 car were probably the class of the field and we knew it was probably gonna come down to us at the end and he did a good job.”
Bell took on four tires under caution on Lap 168 while Keselowski’s team opted for two. The caution, which was brought out when Jeremy Clements slid into the barrels at the entrance to pit road, turned into a red flag for clean-up.
“They did a good job and made the right call to put four tires on and kind of got us there, but it was all-in-all a good day,” Keselowski said. “You kind of get mad about second and kind of don’t. You try to respect the fact that it was a great car today and a great effort for our team, but know that the potential is there for more.”
Bell and Keselowski won the first two stages, respectively.
Ryan Preece, who led six laps, John Hunter Nemechek and Matt Tifft rounded out the top five.
Preece’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and Nemechek’s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet failed post-race inspection height measurements.
Series points leader Daniel Hemric finished 11th and his lead is now six points over Bell.
The Xfinity Series now heads to Iowa Speedway on July 28.
Story updated at 9 p.m.
