Bell becomes favorite after eking into Xfinity Series finale

Christopher Bell's last race could prove more daunting than his next one.

Bell faced a must-win scenario in the semifinal round of the Xfinity Series playoffs at Phoenix last week, needing to beat 39 other drivers to earn the fourth and final spot in the championship field at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

He started near the back, drove through the field and led the final 93 laps to notch his seventh victory of the season.

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2015 file photo, Tyler Reddick celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Trucks series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Reddick won the 2018 season opener at Daytona, edging JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler in the closest finish in NASCAR history. He finished 20th or lower eight times in 22 races that followed, pushing him to the edge of the playoff picture.(AP PhotoChuck Burton, File)

Now, he's the favorite to win it all in the finale Saturday.

"This week, I only have to beat three, so I'm feeling really good," Bell said.

Here's a look at the four contenders:

CHRISTOPHER BELL

The 23-year-old Bell, who grew up racing on dirt tracks in Oklahoma, has three playoff victories that make him the one to beat.

FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2018 file photo, Daniel Hemric speaks during a news conference after a NASCAR Cup Series auto race practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Hemric is the only championship contender without a win in the last two years. That makes him the long shot in the Xfinity finale Saturday, Nov. 17. (AP PhotoChuck Burton, File)

"We're only racing three cars," said Bell, who won the Truck Series championship with Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2017. "Instead of trying to go out there and win the race, all I have to do is beat three competitors. Whether that means running 20th or winning the race, that's going to be our goal: Just to beat three guys."

Bell seems like a lock to land a Cup ride soon. But Joe Gibbs Racing has no openings for its rising star in 2019, so Bell appears destined to return to Xfinity for another year.

COLE CUSTER

FILE - In this July 27, 2018 file photo, Cole Custer waits in the garage area before practice for a NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Custer is looking to win at the Xfinity finale Saturday, Nov. 17. (AP PhotoCharlie Neibergall, File)

The 20-year-old Custer won at Homestead last year in dominating fashion. He led 182 of 200 laps and had a half-lap advantage at times. But he has won just once since, at Texas two weeks ago, to notch a spot in the final four.

Still, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver has been one of the series' most consistent in 2017. He has a series-leading 25 top 10s to go with 13 top-fives. He hasn't had as much speed as Bell throughout the year, but Custer believes his team is starting to put it all together and capable of repeating at Homestead.

"Do we have a ton of confidence that we're just going to be faster than everybody? No," Custer said. "I think everybody's fast. But I think we'll be right there with everybody, and I think it's a track we can compete and win."

Custer is bound to land a Cup ride with SHR, which has a seat opening up with Kurt Busch's departure. But that ride could go to Daniel Suarez, which would seemingly leave Custer in the second-tier series for a third straight season.

DANIEL HEMRIC

Hemric is the only championship contender without a win in the last two years. That makes him the long shot. He advanced to the finale in 2017, but finished second in the race and fourth in the standings.

No one should count Hemric out. The 27-year-old Richard Childress Racing driver has been stout in the playoffs, with six top-10s and three top-fives in six races.

Mistakes and misfortune have prevented him from landing in victory lane. But he's been at his best on mile-and-a-half courses like Homestead.

"I think just for the nay-sayers, it would be nice to prove to everybody that I can be successful and this group of guys can be successful because we have fallen short the past two years," Hemric said.

TYLER REDDICK

Reddick won the season opener at Daytona, edging JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler in the closest finish in NASCAR history. He finished 20th or lower eight times in 22 races that followed, pushing him to the edge of the playoff picture.

He rallied down the stretch, with seven top-10s and four top-fives in the last nine races. His late push moved him past Justin Allgaier and Sadler for one of the championship spots.

The 22-year-old Reddick now has a chance to leave the series on the highest note. He is headed to a Cup ride with Richard Childress Racing in 2019, replacing Ryan Newman.

"It would be fantastic," Reddick said. "This year didn't really go as planned, as we wanted it to. We had speed most of the year at certain race tracks, just didn't capitalize on the moments we really should have. This playoff system and format has been really nice for us. We were able to kind of reset."

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DETROIT (AP) — The Chevrolet Malibu, the last midsize car made by a Detroit automaker, is heading for the junkyard.

General Motors confirmed Thursday that it will stop making the car introduced in 1964 as the company focuses more on electric vehicles.

The midsize sedan was once the top-selling segment in the U.S., a stalwart of family garages nationwide. But its sales started to decline in the early 2000s as the SUV became more prominent and pickup truck sales grew.

Now the U.S. auto market is dominated by SUVs and trucks. Full-size pickups from Ford, Chevrolet and Ram are the top selling vehicles in America, and the top-selling non pickup is Toyota's RAV4 small SUV.

Last year midsize cars made up only 8% of U.S. new vehicle sales, but it was 22% as recently as 2007, according to Motorintelligence.com. Still, Americans bought 1.3 million of the cars last year in a segment dominated by the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

GM sold just over 130,000 Malibus last year, 8.5% fewer than in 2022. Sales rose to nearly 230,000 after a redesign for the 2016 model year, but much of those were at low profits to rental car companies.

But the midsize car segment made a bit of a comeback last year with sales up almost 5%.

GM said it sold over 10 million Malibus, making nine generations since its debut.

GM's factory in Kansas City, Kansas, which now makes the Malibu and the Cadillac XT4 small SUV, will stop making the Malibu in November and the XT4 in January. The plant will get a $390 million retooling to make a new version of the Chevrolet Bolt small electric car.

The plant will begin producing the Bolt and XT4 on the same assembly line in late 2025, giving the plant the flexibility to respond to customer demands, the company said.

The Wall Street Journal reported the demise of the Malibu on Wednesday.

FILE - The 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid is introduced at the New York International Auto Show, April 1, 2015. The Malibu, the last midsize car made by a Detroit automaker, is heading for the junkyard. General Motors confirmed Thursday, May 9, 2024, that it will stop making the car introduced in 1964 as the company focuses more on electric vehicles. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

FILE - A 1965 Chevrolet Malibu is displayed at the company's booth during Guangzhou 2013 Auto Show in China's southern city of Guangzhou, Nov. 21, 2013. The Malibu, the last midsize car made by a Detroit automaker, is heading for the junkyard. General Motors confirmed Thursday, May 9, 2024, that it will stop making the car introduced in 1964 as the company focuses more on electric vehicles. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FILE - A Chevrolet logo is shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Sept. 13, 2023. The Chevrolet Malibu, the last midsize car made by a Detroit automaker, is heading for the junkyard. General Motors confirmed Thursday, May 9, 2024, that it will stop making the car introduced in 1964 as the company focuses more on electric vehicles. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file)