LOUDON, N.H. — Christopher Bell held off hard-charging Cup champion Brad Keselowski over the final 18 laps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday to win his second straight Xfinity Series race.
Keselowski had won the pole Saturday but was dropped to the rear of the field because he was late to the mandatory drivers meeting. It proved to be nothing more than a mild inconvenience for Keselowski in the No. 22 Ford. He stormed past the second-tier regulars and had his fourth straight Xfinity win in sight.
Bell topped Cup star Kyle Busch to win last week’s race at Kentucky Speedway and he followed up in the No. 20 Toyota by keeping Keselowski behind him down the stretch for his third win this season.
The 23-year-old Bell, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, had the fresh tires that Keselowski needed and that was enough to find victory lane. Bell gave his checkered flag to a young fan.
CUP SERIES: NASCAR has been reluctant to make more than modest tweaks to its schedule. That hasn’t stopped its drivers this summer from wondering about possibilities in hopes of luring more fans:
n a Cup race on Eldora dirt.
n more races at short tracks.
n no more multiple races at the same track.
n try Iowa; go back to Rockingham.
The idea of blowing up a schedule that has largely remained unchanged for most of the last decade is hardly a novel idea, and drivers have long lobbied NASCAR to try something new and mix things up over the staid summer months.
Denny Hamlin, a 31-time Cup winner, mulled over a few potential schedule shakeups until he splashed cold water on the campaigning.
“None of this is ever going to happen,” Hamlin said. “Not until these tracks and NASCAR get together and are willing to make changes.”
That seems unlikely in the immediate future for a variety of reasons – from sanctioning agreements with tracks that run through 2020 to safety upgrades and even the threat of litigation should a track lose a race.
The sport has resisted even such fan-friendly schedule changes, like running weeknight races or rotating the site of All-Star weekend.
FORMULA ONE: Sebastian Vettel secured pole position for the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, Germany while Lewis Hamilton’s hopes took another blow on Saturday.
Already trailing Vettel by eight points in the title race, Hamilton starts Sunday’s race from 14th place after a hydraulic failure.
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