Christopher Bell wins Xfinity Series playoff opener at Richmond

CREDIT: Carol D'Agostino for Skirtsandscuffs.com

As NASCAR Xfinity Series opened its playoffs with the 39th Annual Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway all eyes were on Tyler Reddick, last week’s race winner at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season champion. As the defending champion of the series, Reddick could become the first driver to win back-to-back titles in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in Playoff era (2016-2019) and only the seventh all-time.

But tonight wasn’t Reddick’s night.

Plagued with an ill-handling car that suffered from brake-shake from the early moments of the race, Reddick finished in 10th place. Although there were some impressive runs from other playoff teams, no one had anything for Christopher Bell, who won the race and swept the first two stages for the sixth time this season. In all, Bell led 238 of the 250 laps for another dominant win for the No. 20 Rheem Toyota team.

It was Bell’s seventh win this season, his 15th in the Xfinity Series, and his third at Richmond Raceway. The victory advances Bell into the next round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.

"This was a very, very important race to win. We are able to live stress free for a little while now," Bell said. And why is he so good at Richmond? "It's all him (crew chief Jason Ratcliff). He just knows how to bring the right car here," he adds.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs continues at the Charlotte road course for the Drive for the Cure 250 on Saturday, September 28 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

CREDIT: Carol D'Agostino for Skirtsandscuffs.com