The 2025 Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas brought a wild moment when Christopher Bell pitted twice in one trip down pit road — even pulling into his teammate’s pit stall for help. The move caught Chase Briscoe off guard and quickly became a hot topic across the NASCAR world.
After the race, Briscoe shared his reaction to the chaotic pit stop, admitting he didn’t know drivers were allowed to pull into another team’s box.
Chase Briscoe Reveals His Take on Christopher Bell’s Pit Lane Drama
Speaking to veteran journalist Kelly Crandall ahead of the Straight Talk Wireless 400, Briscoe explained what was running through his mind during the pit road chaos in Vegas. While driving through Turns 1 and 2, he suddenly heard his crew chief yelling about a loose left-front tire.
Confused, Briscoe looked up at the big screen to see what was going on. That’s when he spotted Bell sitting in the No. 19 pit box, with a tire changer locking down the left-front lug nut. Briscoe admitted he had no idea that was legal in NASCAR.
“As soon as this happens, I go, ‘Why are you screaming? What’s wrong with the left front?’ They explained to me that the 20 (Bell) had a loose wheel. So, yeah, super heads up, smart by the 20. You know, obviously, I wish we could have done that with our tire, but, yeah, it was crazy. I didn’t even know you could do that truthfully,” Briscoe told Crandall.
Chase Briscoe didn’t see or know that Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell was in his pit stall getting a wheel tightened. And then he heard James Small screaming over the radio … pic.twitter.com/H7lBvx9PIs
— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) March 18, 2025
Bell’s pit stop trouble started when his left-side tire changer slipped and fell before securing the front-left lug nut. Not realizing what had happened, Bell pulled out of his pit stall as his crew chief quickly told him to get help from any team on pit road before rejoining the race.
Some argued Bell could have completed a lap and returned to his pit stall since the race was under caution. But doing that risked the wheel coming off, which could have ended his race entirely.
While the move was smart in the moment, it still came at a cost. Bell, who was running second at the time, was hit with a track position penalty and sent to the back of the pack for the restart.
The No. 20 driver came into Vegas hoping to win his fourth straight race. A pre-race throttle body change had already sent him to the back, but a strong pit strategy got him back in contention.
In the end, though, the second penalty killed his chances. Bell finished 12th.