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Christopher Bell led the finale 42 laps in winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

It was the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s first win of the season and could propel him into the 16-driver, 10-race playoffs.

Bell’s was the second win of his Cup  career was his fifth at New Hampshire in national-series competition — three in Xfinity, one in Camping World Trucks, plus Sunday’s triumph in Cup.

Bell outran Chase Elliott, the Hendrick Motorsports driver who won a week ago and was looking to win for the fourth time in 2022, to get the victory.

Bubba Wallace finished third while Martin Truex, Jr. was fourth and Kevin Harvick fifth.

“Man, that one was much-needed right there,” Bell said. “I’ll tell you what, that was a hell of a race from my viewpoint. That was so much fun racing with the 45 (Kurt Busch), the 22 (Joey Logano) and the 9 (Elliott). We were all running different lines. That was a blast.”

Elliott, who hasn’t finished worse than second in the last four races. took blame for not getting the victory.

“I feel like just a poor run of execution on my end in the last run,’’ said Elliott. “It took me a while to get past Joey (Logano) and the 45 (Busch) and I had to run harder than I wanted to.

“Just make a couple mistakes and couldn’t get much breathing room.

“When you’re in position like we’ve been in, you need to finish it off.’’

Wallace, driver of the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, turned in a career best day at New Hampshire with his podium finish – it was his second top-five of the season but first top-10 since a 10th place at Kansas eight races ago.

“Just proud of the team, proud of myself and proud of everybody at the shop,’’ Wallace said. “It’s been hell for me the last month so good to come out with a top-five.

“This sport humbles you so there’s really no surprises. Have to keep the task at hand and be mindful of your surroundings and do your job.’’

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NASCAR Cup Series Race – 30th Annual Ambetter 301

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Loudon, New Hampshire

Sunday, July 17, 2022

1. (5)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 301.
2. (2)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 301.
3. (4)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 301.
4. (1)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 301.
5. (10)  Kevin Harvick, Ford, 301.
6. (14)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 301.
7. (9)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 301.
8. (18)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 301.
9. (19)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 301.
10. (3)  Kurt Busch, Toyota, 301.
11. (6)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 301.
12. (17)  Kyle Busch, Toyota, 301.
13. (28)  Austin Cindric #, Ford, 301.
14. (8)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 300.
15. (29)  Chase Briscoe, Ford, 300.
16. (20)  AJ Allmendinger(i), Chevrolet, 300.
17. (16)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 300.
18. (11)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 300.
19. (22)  Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 300.
20. (25)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 300.
21. (13)  Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 300.
22. (24)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 300.
23. (30)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 300.
24. (12)  Joey Logano, Ford, 300.
25. (26)  Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 300.
26. (31)  Harrison Burton #, Ford, 300.
27. (23)  Cole Custer, Ford, 300.
28. (15)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 299.
29. (33)  JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 299.
30. (36)  Cody Ware, Ford, 297.
31. (7)  Aric Almirola, Ford, 282.
32. (21)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, Accident, 88.
33. (35)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 5.
34. (34)  Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 5.
35. (27)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 4.
36. (32)  BJ McLeod(i), Ford, Accident, 4.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  98.113 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 14 Mins, 45 Secs. Margin of Victory:  5.439 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  9 for 52 laps.

Lead Changes:  8 among 7 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   M. Truex Jr. 1-95;J. Logano 96-120;M. Truex Jr. 121-188;H. Burton # 189-191;C. Briscoe 192-197;M. Truex Jr. 198-206;K. Busch 207-246;C. Elliott 247-259;C. Bell 260-301.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Martin Truex Jr. 3 times for 172 laps; Christopher Bell 1 time for 42 laps; Kurt Busch 1 time for 40 laps; Joey Logano 1 time for 25 laps; Chase Elliott 1 time for 13 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 6 laps; Harrison Burton # 1 time for 3 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 19,23,5,9,4,20,45,10,24,11

Stage #2 Top Ten: 19,4,9,22,5,45,1,24,20,23

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