Million Dollar Bell: Christopher Bell Shoves Past Logano For All-Star Win

Rusty Jarrett | LAT Images for Toyota GAZOO Racing

Million Dollar Bill, make way for Million Dollar Bell.

Christopher Bell finally got his hands on one of those fun, oversized million-dollar checks, which are handed to the winners of the NASCAR All-Star Race each year, on Sunday night at North Wilkesboro Speedway. In one of the most competitive NASCAR All-Star Races in recent memory, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE had to shove his way past Joey Logano with 10 laps to go to pull away for the win.

RESULTS: NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro

Here is a replay of Bell's race-winning move on Logano:

NEW LEADER: CHRISTOPHER BELL! pic.twitter.com/q3fTUYBOrw

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 19, 2025

Bell crossed the finish line 0.829 seconds ahead of Logano to secure his first career triumph in NASCAR's All-Star Race.

The 30-year-old driver feels the win on Sunday night at North Wilkesboro Speedway ranks rather high on his list of career wins.

"It's pretty high. I would say that this one has to be up there with those Round of 8 wins," Bell stated. "Those Round of 8 wins, they're so valuable that I don't know how you top that, except for that Championship event, which is eluding me so far. But this one is definitely top-three."

Bell, who worked his way to NASCAR from the local dirt tracks in Oklahoma, feels he has gained the respect of his peers in the industry in recent years. With each impactful win, Bell feels that respect continues to grow.

"I do feel that way throughout the industry. All of my competitors respect me, or I feel respected by them," Bell said. "You know the garage members, the mechanics, the crew chiefs. I do feel well respected throughout the industry. You know, I'm not a flamboyant person, so, I'll probably never get the press that some of the bigger characters get, but that's not me. I'm a race car driver."

While it was pure elation and joy for Bell and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team, things were quite a bit more subdued for Logano and the No. 22 Team Penske team, which failed in its quest to win back-to-back All-Star Races.

Logano, one of the most aggressive drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series didn't like being shoved out of the way for the lead. While he called the move fair, as it was for a million dollars, Logano said he would have given Bell a shot right back had he been able to get back to him.

"It is what it is. Sure, he did it good enough that I couldn't get back to him. I was going to show him what fair was, just couldn't get there with the tires," Logano said.

Bell responded to Logano's criticism of the late-race pass for the lead in his post-race press conference.

"Well, I had got to him a couple of times before, and he made it very difficult on me, as he should. I got my run, and I took the moment as I should. I don't think I did anything that Joey has not done, and I've seen Joey do much worse, so we'll continue on," Bell said.

Perhaps what fueled Logano's frustration more than anything was the promoter's caution, which put him in a position to lose the race to begin with.

During a late-race promoter's caution, Logano was the race leader, and his crew chief Paul Wolfe called for him to remain on track with older tires along with four others, while Bell and everyone else pitted for fresh Goodyears.

While Logano admits the call ultimately proved to be the wrong one, he felt at the time that he'd be able to build enough of a lead before Bell got through the traffic where it wouldn't matter. Unfortunately, Logano suffered from his car not firing off on the restart on the older tires, while Bell quickly disposed of the other four cars on older tires.

"I just couldn't get away fast enough. It took me five or six-seven laps after the restart to get rolling," Logano explained. "He passed too many cars there the first couple of laps, and he was there. I was doing all I can to play defense until my rear tires would come in, and it just took too long, and then he was just gone."

Logano was proud to have a car capable of winning the All-Star Race again this year, but is just disappointed that a late-race caution foiled his would-be win.

"Frustrating, but when you lead that many laps, you have the fastest car and a caution beats you, it just sucks," Logano anguished. "It is what it is, and you move on. I mean, happy we had the best car last two times we came here, wish we had two wins though."

He didn't get the win, but Logano was indeed the dominant driver on the night as he led 139 of the 250 laps in the NASCAR All-Star Race before he settled for a runner-up finish.

Ross Chastain would rally from a spin on Lap 113 to score a third-place finish in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, and he was followed across the finish line by a trio of Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, and William Byron.

Kyle Larson, who didn't get any laps in his car until Sunday's race as he had been at Indianapolis Motor Speedway qualifying for next Sunday's 109th Indianapolis 500, worked his way up to the third position late in the event, but on Lap 214, Larson would clock the outside wall, which would lead to damage in his right rear toe link.

The promoter's caution would save Larson from losing additional laps, but he would still finish 21st, three laps off the pace due to the repairs that were required for his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Tyler Reddick finished seventh, while Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, and Chris Buescher rounded out the top-10 finishers in the NASCAR All-Star Race.

Carson Hocevar, who advanced into the starting lineup by virtue of winning the NASCAR All-Star Open earlier in the evening, climbed from a 21st-place starting spot to finish 11th in his first NASCAR All-Star Race.

Denny Hamlin, who struggled mightily with the handling on his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota all weekend long, would end the night in 12th, the best he had run essentially all weekend.

Noah Gragson, the fan vote winner, and John Hunter Nemechek, who finished second in the NASCAR All-Star Open to make it into the field, finished 13th and 19th respectively.

Brad Keselowski, who had an incredible weekend going as he scored the pole for the NASCAR All-Star Race on Friday in qualifying, and backed that up with a win in Saturday's Heat Race, lead a total of 62 laps on the night, but saw his night come to an early end with a crash on Lap 176.

As previously mentioned, Sunday night's NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway was one of the most competitive All-Star Races in recent memory, and there's a chance it could be considered the most competitive in history.

The race featured an all-time NASCAR All-Star Race record 18 lead changes among eight different leaders, and throughout the evening there were some phenomenal side-by-side battles. Now, it should be noted that the 250 laps in Sunday's All-Star Race were also the most laps ever in a NASCAR All-Star Race, it was clear that North Wilkesboro Speedway looked the part as far as a track that should have consideration for a points-paying event in the future.

With the NASCAR All-Star Race now officially in the rearview mirror, the NASCAR Cup Series drivers and teams will now focus on the longest race on the 2025 schedule -- the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Coca-Cola 600 is set for Sunday, May 25 and that event will be the first of five NASCAR Cup Series events broadcasted by the Prime Video streaming service. The Performance Racing Network (PRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the radio broadcast of the Coca-Cola 600.