CUP: Christopher Bell credited with inaugural San Diego last-place finish after engine lets go for relief driver Brent Crews
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
ALL PHOTOS: Brock Beard
Christopher Bell picked up the 8th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Anduril 250 “Race The Base” at Naval Base Coronado after his #20 Craftsman Racing For A Miracle Toyota lost the engine after 28 of 75 laps.
The finish, which came in Bell’s 233rd series start, was his second of the season and first since Texas on May 3rd, six races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 38th for the #20, the 204th for Toyota, and the 727th from a blown engine. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 65th for the #20, the 438th from Toyota, and the 1,166th for the engine.
When Bell was last featured here following the race in Texas, he had just retaken the lead from Denny Hamlin, only to be clipped in the right-rear by a wrecking Todd Gilliland, sending him wrecking into the outside wall. Then, after a 21st-place showing in Watkins Glen, he was headed for a streak of three consecutive runner-up finishes. The streak ended on Lap 148 at Michigan, where Bell was again in the wrong place at the wrong time. This time, when Chase Elliott broke loose underneath him, the result was a 63g impact to the Turn 4 wall – the hardest wreck in the NextGen era. Bell walked away, but was left with a fractured left wrist. He still drove the next race at Pocono and nearly won on fuel mileage, only for a late-race pit stop to leave him 26th. But then came the new challenge of back-to-back road course races on the west coast, starting with the demanding new 3.4-mile street course at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, California.
For San Diego, the plan was to have Bell share the ride with Joe Gibbs Racing relief driver Brent Crews, the team’s full-time competitor in the #19 Toyota. The car the two would share was sponsored by Craftsman, and in conjunction with their “Racing For A Miracle Program,” was decorated using a combination of three different hand-colored designs, each by a young patient from Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. The duo started the weekend ranking 36th of the 39 entrants for the Cup race with a best lap of 140.509 seconds (87.112mph). Bell took the car out for qualifying, where in Qualifying Round 1A, he ran 19th of the 20 drivers with a lap of 143.639 seconds (85.214mph), good enough for 37th on the grid. By Sunday, the “game-time” decision was made that Bell would start the car, and that Crews would take over at the first caution flag. Crews was the odds-on favorite to win Saturday’s race, picked by all three of TheCW’s broadcasters after he won the pole. He led 11 laps, only to finish 31st after the engine let go.
Cody Ware (right) shares a moment with his family before the start.
Starting 39th and last for Sunday’s race was Cody Ware, hose #51 Rocket Doctor Chevrolet ran a lap of just 205.743 seconds (59.492mph), more than 30 seconds slower than the next-fastest car of Erik Jones in the #43 Dollar Tree Toyota. Both Bell and Jones incurred redundant tail-end penalties for unapproved adjustments along with 17th-place qualifier Tyler Reddick, who spun his #45 Pala Casino Toyota.
When the green flag dropped, Bell and Jones remained in the final row. By the end of the first lap, Bell remained in the 39th spot, now following in the tire tracks of Jimmie Johnson, who was having brake issues on his #84 Carvana Toyota. On Lap 2, Austin Dillon spun his #3 Boot Barn Chevrolet off the nose of A.J. Allmendinger’s #16 Celsius Chevrolet in Turn 9, and Bell passed Johnson for what was now 37th place. Dillon didn’t draw a caution as he struggled to re-fire his engine, which he eventually did. NRN reported that, for the next several laps, fans in Turn 9 cheered Dillon as he passed, now a full nine corners behind the leaders. On Lap 4, Bell pulled away from Johnson, and on Lap 5, Jones dropped back to 38th, followed on Lap 6 by Josh Berry taking 38th in his #21 Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford. That time by, Johnson spun in a chicane, slammed into a tire barrier with the left-front, and came down pit road. He didn’t drop to last place until Lap 7 as Johnson left his pit stall a few seconds after Dillon passed him on track. The gap from 38th-place Dillon to 39th-place Johnson grew to about ten seconds. Chase Elliott took over 38th when he stalled his #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, dropping him 93 seconds back of the leader to Johnson’s 97.556. By Lap 11, Elliott climbed past the #4 Rush Truck Centers / Cummins Ford of Noah Gragson, who took over 38th.
On Lap 12, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.’s #47 Sycuan Casino and Resort Chevrolet lost power on track, which drew the first caution of the day. Stenhouse lost a lap before he re-fired the engine and returned to pit road, dropping him to last place behind the trailing cars of Johnson and Dillon, who caught up with the field. Johnson made a pair of pit stops on Laps 13 and 14. The second stop ran so long that he was released from pit road on Lap 15, just as the leaders were entering Turn 11. This meant Johnson had to once again fight his Toyota around the track just to catch the field, which he couldn’t. When the green flag dropped, Johnson was at least six corners behind the leaders, and the still last-place Stenhouse also trailed the field by a few carlengths of open track. By Lap 16, Stenhouse had made up most of this ground while Johnson’s gap remained the same, his #84 entering Turn 16 while the leaders were in Turn 6. On Lap 17, Stenhouse was now racing both Jones and Dillon, who were themselves losing touch with the pack.
The next time around, several leaders made their first green-flag stops, including Shane Van Gisbergen in the #97 Red Bull Chevrolet and Bubba Wallace, who marched up to 2nd in the #23 XFINITY Toyota. When Wallace left his stall, his team realized his right-front wheel wasn’t secure, and told their driver to tip-toe around the track. He made it to Turn 10 before the wheel flew off, drawing the next caution. Wallace made it back to pit road and shut off his engine, where he was forced to sit for a two-lap penalty. This same caution put Stenhouse back on the lead lap, and dropped Wallace to last place. Wallace, who received bear-bond on the right-front splitter that had dragged on track due to the missing wheel, was released from his stall on Lap 20. Austin Cindric had a long stop on his #2 Menards / Cardell Cabinetry Ford that dropped him back to 37th, just before Stenhouse returned to the lead lap.
Back under green on Lap 23, Wallace was the only driver off the lead lap, but two laps down. Near the front, Chris Buescher’s #17 Body Guard Ford crossed the nose of Van Gisbergen’s #97 and spun 360 degrees. The field stacked-up, but continued under green. Johnson then made another unscheduled pit stop, dropping him back to 38th, but still on the lead lap. By Lap 26, Johnson was shown 61.92 seconds back of the lead. Wallace remained in last place, still two laps down, but got one of them back when the caution fell on Lap 30.
Brent Crews interviewed in the garage area after gearbox issues.
By this point, Brent Crews had taken over for Bell, the driver swap completed during the first caution on Lap 13 when Stenhouse stalled on the track. Both drivers were about the same size, so no seat inserts or adjustments were needed, though he did need a different wheel and pedal adjustments. Crews took the Lap 23 restart in 5th and was muscled out of the way by the series regulars. On Lap 29, he running around 29th when his car erupted in smoke, then stopped in Turn 12B, drawing the third caution flag of the day. The team discussed bringing the car to the “Damaged Vehicle Policy” zone, which was an open area across from the team’s haulers in the vast Cup garage behind Turn 16, but the team remarked the car was leaking a puddle of fluid behind it. On Lap 30, the car was towed to the garage area, where it was parked across from the JGR team’s hauler, where Bell was walking in his red Craftsman uniform. As the crew retrieved jack stands to look over the car, I caught up with Crews as he walked from the car in his white Mobil 1 uniform from Saturday.
“Yeah, I just blew the gearbox out of it under downshifting,” said Crews, who clarified it wasn’t a missed shift. “Just started leaking there, and as I was downshifting, just felt like it was in neutral through every year, so not really sure. Something with the transmission, but hate it for the whole 20 group, getting in there, trying to get some points for them, and obviously ended the race early. But grateful for the opportunity, and hopefully Christopher heals up soon.”
Crews also added his driver transition was smooth. “Yeah, and that's just a testament to this team, they do such a great job, and feels like home here. So, it's easy to be able to switch over. The cars are obviously a lot different, but other than that, getting in and out all went well. Just hate that I raced ended early.”
Shane Van Gisbergen climbs from his wrecked car.
Near the end of Crews’ interview, Shane Van Gisbergen rolled into the garage with the front of his #97 destroyed. Van Gisbergen had restarted 3rd after leading seven laps from the pole. Entering Turn 1, he briefly considered a move to the outside of teammate Connor Zilisch in the #88 Red Bull Chevrolet and Austin Hill in the #33 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet. Van Gisbergen throttled back, and Hill appeared to take a wide entry to the corner, stuffing Zilisch into the barrier and causing Van Gisbergen to ram his teammate. The ensuing wreck nine-car wreck led to a nearly ten-minute red flag, during which Van Gisbergen drove the wrong way up pit road into the garage. I asked him what happened as he walked to the team’s hauler, but he declined, saying, “Not a good time, brother.” Zilisch’s car was towed in soon after, the left-front wheel dangling from its ruined suspension. A minute or so later, Hill drove his #33 into the garage with a damaged left-rear suspension. Hill’s crew was there waiting to make repairs. But by the Lap 34 restart, NASCAR declared Zilisch, Van Gisbergen, and Bell (by way of Crews) all out of the race. Hill was declared out a few laps later.
Connor Zilisch’s car towed to the garage after the wreck.
This same wreck gave Wallace back his second lap, dropping Bell to last place with Van Gisbergen 38th, Zilisch 37th, and Hill 36th. Completing the Bottom Five was Gragson, whose #4 slammed the wall during the following eight-lap run, ending his race.
Austin Hill after driving to the open-air “DVP” zone in San Diego.
The No. 67 of race winner Corey Heim.
San Diego a banner day for 23XI Racing, especially first-time winner Corey Heim and his red-white-and-blue #67
After running two laps down in last place, Bubba Wallace made a stunning comeback, rallying all the way to 2nd by the checkered flag during a banner day for 23XI Racing. Riley Herbst nearly finished in the Top Five before late-race contact from A.J. Allmendinger sent his #35 Monster Energy Toyota back to the 8th spot, and Tyler Reddick nearly won the race himself, leading nine laps in his #45 before he cut down a tire while battling still another teammate for the win.
This was Corey Heim, who in just his 13th career Cup start pulled off a stunning upset in an “open” car, a win that came just a short time after news he will finally run full-time in the Cup Series driving the #35 in place of Herbst in 2027. This time around, Heim drove the #67 Mobil 1 / O’Reilly Auto Parts Toyota, marking the first win in Cup Series history for the #67. On a weekend of several patriotic paint schemes, many of which adorned in red, white, and blue, Heim’s ran blue door numbers with white outlines on a red background – strikingly similar to the color combination of the late Buddy Arrington, who ran that car number for most of his 560 career Cup Series starts from 1964 until 1988, often driving Dodge and Chrysler products. Arrington died in 2022, but his son Joey continues the family legacy in Virginia, where he’s collaborated with the IHRA to design the “VA 250 Car Project,” a land-speed record challenger modeled after the iconic Dodge Daytona. The effort, as with this weekend’s race, is in conjunction with this year’s celebration of the American Semiquincentennial.
I asked Heim about scoring the first win for car No. 67, to which he said, “I actually saw a video the other day of like the current driven numbers that have never won a race. I think there was maybe five of them, and I was like, ‘Oh, it'd be really cool to,’ because I'm gonna do the 35 next year, so I was like, ‘It'd be really cool to be the first one to win in 35.’ I didn't think about 67 I mean, so kind of shows you where my head was at. Just, yeah, to look back on that video, I literally watched it like three days ago, too. That's the crazy part. So, look back on that video and add to that list, make another number a winner in NASCAR. It's a special feeling, and hopefully I can do it again next year.”
Outside the 23XI contingent, A.J. Allmendinger ran an impressive 5th without factory support from Chevrolet in this, his 499th career Cup start. This was Allmendinger’s best finish of the season and only his third top-ten run of the year, improving on his 7th in Watkins Glen.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*As of this writing, it is yet unclear if this is the first incidence of a last-place finisher credited for a last-place finish when he was not driving the car at the time the race ended. It’s been much more common in NASCAR history for a last-place finisher to become a relief driver for another driver struggling early in the race.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
39) #20-Christopher Bell* / 28 laps / engine
38) #97-Shane Van Gisbergen / 31 laps / crash
37) #88-Connor Zilisch / 31 laps / crash
36) #33-Austin Hill / 31 laps / crash
35) #4-Noah Gragson / 37 laps / crash
*Bell relieved by Brent Crews on Lap 13
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Joe Gibbs Racing, Trackhouse Racing (4)
2nd) Hendrick Motorsports (2)
3rd) Garage 66, Kaulig Racing, Live Fast Motorsports, RFK Racing, Rick Ware Racing, Wood Brothers Racing (1)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (9)
2nd) Ford (4)
3rd) Toyota (3)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
