“It’s feeling really good.” Christopher Bell’s words after winning the second All-Star heat race should have been a warning for Joey Logano. The heat race witnessed the competition caution called during lap 31, when Bell made a two-tire pit stop. That was all the difference it made for him to beat Logano by 2.085 seconds and score the front-row spot.

An eerily similar situation unfolded during the final All-Star Race. As a result of that, Christopher Bell’s wallet became heavier and Joey Logano’s tempers flared – not at Bell, but at NASCAR.

Christopher Bell unlocks glory via NASCAR’s innovation

Well, the 2025 All-Star Race was set up for a unique event, anyway. NASCAR implemented the ‘competition caution’, wherein Speedway Motorsports Inc. CEO Marcus Smith would throw a phantom caution. The race witnessed several natural caution flags anyway, ranging from Daniel Suarez cutting his right-front tire to Ross Chastain spinning off Turn 2.

However, Smith threw his flag on lap 101, right when Joey Logano was leading. That lent Christopher Bell his window of opportunity to exercise his Heat Race strategy. Taking only two tires, Bell left pit road first. In the meantime, Logano did not pit at all and ended up trailing his rival. That was when Bell set his stage for the final victory.

What followed was a series of lead exchanges between the two, but ultimately, Christopher Bell came out as the final leader. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver bested the defending All-Star Race winner by 0.829 seconds. A million dollars richer, Bell roared into the microphone in an interview with Fox Sports: “North Wilkesboro, how about that one!!” He continued, “That right there is absolutely incredible. North Wilkesboro, best short track on the schedule!” 

However, Joey Logano delivered a visibly irate interview after the race. The Team Penske driver said he was feeling “really p—ed off” due to his slim defeat to Christopher Bell. What is more, he pointedly accused Marcus Smith of throwing the caution at a disadvantageous moment for him. Logano said, “Yeah. I’m all about no gimmicks with the cautions. I’m a little … me and @MarcusSMI aren’t seeing eye-to-eye right now, okay? (laughter) I gotta have a word with him.”

Meanwhile, Christopher Bell was head over heels in joy and congratulated his fantastic pit crew. The No. 20 JGR team delivered magnificent pit stops both in the All-Star heat race and the final race, leading to Bell’s victory. “Man, they’re the best. There’s nothing else to say… Behind the car, behind the wheel, you’re just a small part of success. These boys right here, Adam Stevens [crew chief] on the pit box, all the engineers, all the mechanics that put this thing together, they’re the big picture… Without them, I’m nobody.”

Well, Bell certainly enjoyed his night out at North Wilkesboro, and when asked if the short track should be added to the points schedule, “LET’S GO,” Bell shouted in elation. And he wasn’t the only driver to approve of this. 5th place finisher Chase Elliott added, “I don’t see why not. I think it’s plenty capable of hosting, and obviously the crowd seems extremely receptive to the idea too.”

The humble words for his pit crew and drumming up support for North Wilkesboro are sure to rack up some fan appreciation for Christopher Bell. But one thing’s for sure, Joey Logano is not at all happy with the JGR driver.

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Logano delivers another warning

If you thought that Joey Logano was simply irked at NASCAR, you are wrong. The All-Star Race witnessed several caution flags, mostly due to self-inflicted spin-outs or wrecks. However, the No. 22 Team Penske Ford narrowly avoided a mishap of its own. That is because Christopher Bell executed a few aggressive moves on Logano.

After the competition caution, Bell was the first driver on new tires and came charging through the six drivers that stayed out. Bell attempted to pass Logano on the high line before diving low and forcing Logano up the track. Eventually, Logano lost his lead about 12 laps into the final sprint. Evidently, the 2024 Cup Series champion was fuming not only at NASCAR but also at his All-Star Race rival.

“He kinda just ran me up into the wall,” Joey Logano declared. He continued to explain how both Marcus Smith’s caution and Christopher Bell’s aggression disadvantaged him. “I felt like the fall off wasn’t too bad, the sun went down, and we had six cars stay out with us, and we thought we could hold them off. But the No. 20 [Christopher Bell] had a good enough restart to clear too many of them too fast. I couldn’t get away in time, it took me six, seven laps to get my car up and rolling again. I did all I could do to hold him off, and he got under me and released the brake, gave me no option.” 

Well, a brawl between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch did not unfold like last year. But we are witnessing a scuffle between Joey Logano and two rivals – NASCAR and Christopher Bell.