Christopher Bell led 101 of the 200 laps, claimed both stages and won the NASCAR Xfinity race at Texas on Saturday night to secure one of the four spots to race for the series championship.
Bell led four times, going ahead to stay with 30 laps remaining at the 1 12-mile track. He went on to win by more than 5 1/2 seconds ahead of runner-up Ross Chastain, who is not in playoff contention.
Three championship-contending spots for Nov. 16 finale at Homestead will be up grabs and determined next weekend at Phoenix. Bell entered Texas as the points leader, followed by Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick and Justin Allgaier —and that order was unchanged.
It was the eighth win this season for Bell, and his 16th in 72 career starts in the series.
With his two stage wins at Texas, Bell has 21 this season. That is 13 more than Custer's total that is the second-most in the series.
Austin Cindric finished third, three spots ahead of Allgaier. Custer was eighth, Michael Annett 11th and Chase Briscoe 22nd. Playoff contenders Reddick or Noah Gragson didn't finish the race because of accidents.
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A race car veered off the track during a competition in Sri Lanka on Sunday and rammed into a crowd of spectators and race officials, killing seven people and injuring 20 others, officials said.
Thousands of spectators looked on as the mishap took place during a race in the town of Diyatalawa in the tea-growing central hills, about 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of the capital Colombo.
It wasn't immediately clear what caused the mishap.
Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said one of the cars veered off the track and crashed into spectators and officials of the event. Seven people, including four officials, were killed and another 20 were being treated at a hospital, said Thalduwa. He said three of the injured were in critical condition.
Thalduwa said police have launched an investigation into the accident, which was the 17th out of 24 events scheduled. The race was suspended after the accident.
About 45,000 spectators had gathered at the race circuit at a Sri Lankan military academy. The event was organized by the Sri Lankan army and Sri Lanka Automobile Sports.
People attend to the injured after a racing car crashed into the spectators during the Fox Hill Supercross, a motor racing event organized by the Sri Lanka's army, in Diyatalawa, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/STR)
People gather around a car that had crashed into the spectators during the Fox Hill Supercross, a motor racing event organized by the Sri Lanka's army, in Diyatalawa, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/STR)
