Bell edges Elliott to win New Hampshire Cup

While Martin Truex Jr. dominated most of the race, it was Elliott and Bell who emerged as the fastest cars after the final round of pit stops.

On 247 of the 301 laps, Elliott pushed Kurt Busch out of the way to take the lead, but on lap 260, Bell passed Elliott.

From there, Bell was untouchable, edging out Elliott by 5.767 seconds for his first win of the 2022 season and just the second of his career.

“I can’t believe it,” Bell said over his team radio after taking the checkered flag.

Bell, 27, became the 14th different winner in the Cup Series this season.

“Man, it was really needed here,” said Bell, who was in danger of missing the 16-Pilot playoffs without a win.

“From my point of view, it was a hell of a race. It was so much fun racing with (Kurt Busch), (Joey Logano) and (Elliott). We all followed different lines. It was a blast. I’m so happy – so happy to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing.

“Winning in cup races is difficult. It seems like last week we were so close and we drifted apart a bit. But we are here today.”

Bubba Wallace finished third, Truex was fourth and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five.

Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez and Kurt Busch round out the top 10.

3 stage

During the break between stages 2 and 3, most of the leading cars pitted with Truex first on pit road. During the stop, Austin Cindrik had a tire that went out of control and had to restart from the back of the field.

Harrison Burton, Chase Briscoe and Kyle Busch stayed away and led on the 193-lap restart. Truex finished fourth and Elliott fifth.

Briscoe quickly jumped into the lead after the restart. On lap 198, Truex on new tires passed Briscoe and returned to the lead.

In Turn 4 on lap 205, Todd Gilliland spun and hit the wall to receive his ninth caution of the race. Most of the leading lap cars with Truex hit pit road.

Kurt Busch stayed out and inherited the lead and took the lead on the lap 210 restart, followed by Joey Logano, Cole Custer and Truex.

On lap 243, Elliott made contact with Logan who was battling for position, with Elliott taking second and Logano dropping to fourth.

Elliott then faced Kurt Busch in a battle for the lead, and Elliott took the lead for the first time in the race on lap 247.

On lap 260, Bell finally caught Elliott and passed him in Turn 4 to take the lead for the first time.

On lap 270, Kurt Busch was forced to pit on the green to get fuel.

With 30 laps remaining, Bell led Elliott by 1.2 seconds as Wallace ran third and Harvick fourth.

With 10 laps to go, Bell’s lead over Elliott increased to 2.5 seconds. Wallace remained third, more than nine seconds behind the leader.

Logano was forced to pit under green with four laps left to refuel.

2 stage

Truex held off an onrushing Harvick to take the win in Stage 2, his seventh stage win of the 2022 season.

Elliott was third, Logan fourth, and Kyle Larson finished fifth.

In between stages 1 and 2, all the cars leading the laps pitted with Truex first.

On the restart on lap 78, Truex was followed by Harvick, Larson and Wallace.

Kyle Busch spun in the middle of the field on the backstretch on lap 79, bringing out the third caution of the race.

Only a handful of pit cars. The race resumed on lap 84 with Truex out front followed by Larson, Harvick and Wallace.

On lap 89, Corey LaJoie spun out in Turn 2 and hit Burton in Turn 1. Michael McDowell was also involved in the incident. LaJoie’s #7 Chevrolet sustained significant damage and was forced to retire from the race.

“He got stuck between fourth and third gear in downshift and locked up both rear tires,” Lajoy said. “It went to an immediate rear slide. It happened earlier today and I was out of shape but could catch it. It was something amazing that we got to watch.”

Most of the cars that lead the lap first leave the Truex with only a stop for fuel. Logano stayed away and inherited the lead. Elliott had to make a second stop for a loose lunge.

Logano took the lead on the 101-lap restart, followed by Cindric, Buescher and Truex.

Truex drove Logan and passed him on the inside in turns 3 and 4 on lap 121 to regain the lead.

With 50 laps to go in the stage, Truex led Logano by 3.1 seconds and Larson moved back to third.

On lap 146, Ryan Blaney spun in turn 4 and hit the wall to receive the fifth caution of the race.

All the leading cars with Truex – the first out of the circuit. Suarez was second thanks to a two-tire pit stop.

On lap 152, the race went back to green with Truex in front, followed by Suarez, Logano and Harvick.

Chase Briscoe spun in Turn 4 shortly after the restart to bring the race back under caution.

On lap 157, the race returned to the green with Truex still in command.

Kyle Busch spun again on lap 163 on the front to bring the race back under caution. Immediately after the caution came out, Austin Dillon and Keselowski traded blows several times, with both cars sustaining significant damage.

The race resumed on lap 168 with Truex still in the lead followed by Logano, Harvick and Kurt Busch.

With five laps to go in the stage, Truex maintained a roughly 1-second lead over Harvick as Elliott ran third.

1 stage

Truex took command early and easily won Stage 1 over Wallace, leading all 70 laps.

Larson finished third, Elliott fourth, and Harvick rounded out the top five.

Truex started from the pole and easily led Elliott at the start.

On lap five, Alex Bowman and Ty Dillon crashed on the backstretch in an incident that also involved BJ McLeod and Josh Bilicki. This brought out the first caution of the race.

A few cars hit the pit, but most were left on the sidelines. On the restart on lap 13, Truex was in the lead, followed by Wallace, Elliott and Kurt Busch.

With 30 laps remaining in the stage, Truex led Wallace by 1.6 seconds, with Larson in third.

With 10 laps to go, Truex’s lead over Wallace grew to 3.3 seconds, with Larson in third.