The last lap of the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway last Saturday was a thrilling showdown between Christopher Bell and Brad Keselowski.
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Bell had the lead and was cruising steadily towards Victory Lane when Keselowski tried the classic bump-and-run move on him in between Turns 3 and 4. The hit he delivered was pretty hard, and for a moment it looked like Bell might spin out.
Fortunately, he was able to keep control of his car and ended up as the winner. Days after the incident, Denny Hamlin came out on Actions Detrimental and called Keselowski out for the aggressiveness.
He said that the move could not have been categorized as “clean racing” had Bell spun out. Considering that he didn’t, Hamlin was willing to not go so hard on the RFK Racing co-owner.
He said, “I think Brad even admitted that. He said, ‘When I hit him, I was like, Oh, no. I did not mean to hit him that hard.’ So, um, that was as hard as I’ve seen someone get hit on a corner entry and not spin out.” Keselowski had a strong purpose during the race. His team hasn’t won a single race all season despite having the firepower to do so.
Being the up-and-coming team that it is, at least one Victory Lane visit this year would appease the employees and the sponsors greatly. Furthermore, the team’s drivers have come frustratingly close to winning multiple times. All this ought to have led Keselowski to be a bit more aggressive than he would have otherwise been. It was rather fortunate that Bell was able to keep things in control.
What Bell said about Keselowski’s aggression
Bell told the press after the race that he expected such a move from Keselowski. He said, “He ran me down from however long it was, three car lengths, four car lengths. Those last three laps, they were not my prettiest three laps I’ve run in my career, but it was good enough to get to the checkered flag first. I knew he was going to be really aggressive, really hungry.”
Keselowski might have pulled the move and gotten away with it had there been any other driver in Bell’s place. But the Joe Gibbs Racing superstar is too good not to know how to tackle such tactics. The victory was his fourth of the week and secured his spot in the Round of 12, which begins at New Hampshire this coming weekend.
