Christopher Bell was frustrated with Carson Hocevar and Spire Motorsports after this past Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener at Darlington Raceway. Bell made contact with Hocevar leaving his pit stall on the Lap 154 pit stop.
Hocevar went around and ended up backwards in his pit stall. Bell sustained significant damage to his splitter and from there, he struggled to make much of an impact, finishing 29th. Kevin Harvick said that Hocevar did nothing wrong, adding it was the No. 20 team’s responsibility to get Bell cleanly out of his pit box.
“Bell was really frustrated after the race. He felt like Hocevar didn’t have anything to race for, but I will tell you that Hocevar finished ninth. So, when you look at these scenarios, the crew chief on top of the pit box or the spotter is responsible for helping the driver get out of the pit box,” Harvick said on Tuesday’s Happy Hour podcast. “I can’t ever remember a time when I wasn’t looking in my mirror and didn’t know who was pitted around me and know what was going on and could see a car that was out of line.
“So, I don’t think Hocevar did anything wrong. I think the call out of the pit box was probably aggressive. Bell just pulled right out of there like nobody was coming and with the way that the mirrors and everything work, you can use them to be able to get out of your pit box and pay attention. I think that is unfortunate for Bell, but I think some of that responsibility ultimately falls on them.”
Christopher Bell called out Carson Hocevar, Spire after Darlington
Bell viewed it differently. In his mind, Hocevar — a non-playoff driver — had nothing to race for. He should have yielded in that moment, Bell said.
“The 77 just didn’t yield,” Bell said, via Tim Moore of Motorsports Today. “He didn’t give way, and I would say that it’s our responsibility to not run into him if he’s racing for position, but the fact that he was the one who brought the yellow out, the only reason that we had contact was because he was so far behind the field catching up. You know, that’s very frustrating.
“Honestly, I don’t really give blame to Carson. I think it’s more on his team to not let him know the circumstances that he’s pitted on an island with all the playoff cars. He just spun, brought out the yellow. He’s not going to gain a spot on pit road. And he didn’t give way and ruined my night. So, it’s a bummer.”
Darlington ended up being a continuation of Bell’s struggles since his All-Star Race victory in May. Just one race into the postseason, and Bell has dropped to 10th in the standings. He is only 11 points clear of the cutline.
