Christopher Bell (Throttle Body) Starting Las Vegas Cup Race at Rear of Field

A throttle body issue will force Christopher Bell, looking for his fourth straight NASCAR Cup Series win, to the rear of the pack prior to Sunday's Pennzoil 400.

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

As Christopher Bell looks to become just the seventh driver in NASCAR’s modern era to win four straight NASCAR Cup Series events, there’s been a major development in the garage that has thrown a wrench into that sidequest.

Bell, who placed his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE in 13th-place during Saturday’s qualifying session, will have to start at the rear of the 36-car field for Sunday’s 400-mile contest, after his No. 20 team changed the throttle body on the racecar.

The Norman, Oklahoma-native enters this weekend as the winner of the last three NASCAR Cup Series events, collecting victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Circuit of The Americas (COTA), and Phoenix Raceway – three different types of racetracks.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been a great racetrack for Bell in the past, with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver collecting three top-five and five top 10 finishes in his 10 starts at the mile-and-a-half racetrack located in Nevada.

Bell has finished in the runner-up position in each of the last two Fall events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and dominated last Fall’s event after leading a race-high 155 laps, before coming up just short of Joey Logano.

John Hunter Nemechek also had a similar issue that was discovered on Saturday, which will require his LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entry to start at the rear of the field in his Backstreet Boys No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE. Nemechek was supposed to roll from 30th.

To the rear at the start of the Cup race at Vegas — quest for four consecutive wins will be tough as Christopher Bell (qualified 13th) changed a throttle body, as did John Hunter Nemechek (30th), after qualifying. Both will have to rally from the back. @NASCARONFOX

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 16, 2025

Finally, 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney will also be heading to the rear of the field in Sunday’s event, after the team had to make extensive repairs to his No. 12 Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse following practice.

Blaney suffered a major issue during practice on Sunday, in which the right-rear tire popped and sent the Team Penske driver into the outside wall. The No. 12 was unable to compete in qualifying and was going to start shotgun on the field anyways.

Bell and Blaney, two of NASCAR’s best, will have some serious work to do if they’re planning to end up in Victory Lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday.