Chase Elliott accepts blame for &x27;wild&x27; crash with Christopher Bell Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach NewsJournalMon, June 8, 2026 at 6:45 PM UTC 0 Chase Elliott walked over to Christopher Bell and put his hand on Bell&x27;s back. On June 7 at Michigan International Speedway, the duo collided and produced one of the hardest hits in recent NASCAR memory. Elliott wiggled in Turn 3 and bumped Bell up the track, sending Bell so hard into the outside wall that a red flag stopped the race for 20 minutes so officials could repair the dented barrier.
Chase Elliott accepts blame for 'wild' crash with Christopher Bell
Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-JournalMon, June 8, 2026 at 6:45 PM UTC
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Chase Elliott walked over to Christopher Bell and put his hand on Bell's back.
On June 7 at Michigan International Speedway, the duo collided and produced one of the hardest hits in recent NASCAR memory. Elliott wiggled in Turn 3 and bumped Bell up the track, sending Bell so hard into the outside wall that a red flag stopped the race for 20 minutes so officials could repair the dented barrier.
Both drivers exited their damaged cars immediately afterward. Elliott went over to check on Bell.
"It was totally my fault," Elliott said. "I feel really bad for Bell, just taking him out. I was trying to run the bottom, make use of our fresh tires and at least get to second, I was hoping, and stay side-by-side with him. I just got in there and got free.
"I thought I was going to spin and was kind of committing to spinning out. As soon as I was committed to spinning, it just hooked up and, unfortunately, sent Christopher into the wall really hard and me shortly thereafter. We were just racing really hard. I thought it was a turning point in the race to make something happen, but just stepped over the line and paid for it."
Elliott and Bell were evaluated and released from the infield care center. Bell did not speak to the media afterward, but his team owner, Joe Gibbs, indicated he injured his wrist and ankle in the crash. Bell's status for next weekend at Pocono is unknown.
"We're going to continue tonight when he gets home," Gibbs said. "We're going to make sure he gets everything he needs to get there, whatever it might be, and then we'll just have to kind of wait."
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Both Elliott and Bell were enjoying good days during the FireKeepers Casino 400. Elliott led an event-high 67 laps. He and Bell were battling for second when the wreck occurred and ended their outings on Lap 148.
Once the race restarted, Denny Hamlin took control and sped into Victory Lane.
But Elliott and Bell's incident remained a big talking point.
Here's a sampling of the reactions.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Amazon Prime Video broadcast: "I haven't seen that hard of a hit in a long time. The impact of that 20 car was insane."
Ryan Preece on his radio: "Let me know if he's OK. That was wild."
Bubba Wallace on his radio: "Holy (expletive), please tell me that guy's all right ... My God. That was the scariest hit I've ever seen."
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Chase Elliott takes blame for wreck with Christopher Bell at Michigan
Source: "AOL Sports"
Source: Sports
Published: June 8, 2026 at 03:27PM on Source: PRIME TIME
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