NASCAR star claims playoffs were FIXED and MANIPULATED

NASCAR star Christopher Bell has claimed that the playoff race that saw him miss out on making the championship four was fixed and manipulated.

Bell made the playoffs this season courtesy of victories in Phoenix, New Hampshire, and Charlotte during the regular season.

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The #20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver had been going well in the playoffs, too, making the round of eight. However, despite finishing in a position that would see him make the championship four at Martinsville, he was denied this having been deemed to have broken the rules regarding riding the wall.

Ultimately, Bell missed out by one position and he feels that had William Byron not been insulated by his fellow Chevrolet drivers during the race at Martinsville, he would not have made the championship four and Bell would have.

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Bell: I feel cheated

“This has been one of the hardest things that I have had to go through as a race car driver,” Bell explained ahead of Sunday's championship race. “I believe cheated is the right word."

Bell added: "I feel cheated. I feel cheated out of a chance to compete for a championship,"

"It all stems from what happened [with]15-20 to go, whenever the race got fixed and manipulated by Chevrolet. That forced our hands to do what we did, and ultimately it forced me into a mistake on the last lap to get into the wall.

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“I feel I should never have been in that position. Had the race been run fairly, [Byron] would have lost enough spots to get me into the final race.”

In the end, Byron did not go on to achieve success in the championship race at Phoenix on Sunday, finishing down in third, which may be some crumb of comfort to Bell.

Instead, the race was won by Joey Logano, who led home a Team Penske 1-2 alongside Ryan Blaney.

Tyler Reddick - the other remaining championship four driver - finished in 6th.

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