“I owed them the respect”: Christopher Bell breaks silence on his apology to Zane Smith & Co for the fierce Indy disaster

Christopher Bell has spoken up about his actions following the wreck that ended Zane Smith’s run at the Brickyard 400. In a short video shared on social media, Bell opened up about the decision to personally approach and apologize to each member of Smith’s team after the race.

The video was shared in a tweet by Dustin Long on X. He captioned it,

“#NASCAR … Christopher Bell said he made a mistake in making a move and that wrecked Zane Smith late in the race at Indy. Afterward, Bell went to each crew member of Smith’s team and apologized. I asked him what it was like to do that to people bigger than him and angry at him.”

The contact happened late in the race during overtime at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christopher Bell, driving the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, clipped the rear of Zane Smith’s No. 38 Ford, sending it straight into the outside wall. Smith, who had started 27th, had made his way into the top 10 before the crash ended his day. Talking about the incident, Bell shared,

“I was nervous, but...I knew that I deserved what's coming, and so...I'm like, "Yeah, I'm going to own it."” He added, “I felt like I owed them the respect.”

This wreck cost Smith heavily. He dropped to 31st while Bell got an eighth-place finish. According to Bergenty, the team has now lost 51 points across late-race incidents in three recent races—Sonoma, Dover, and now Indy.

As sourced from NASCAR.com, Bell knows he’s not known for dirty racing. He pointed to similar past incidents like the one between Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott in 2020, which were also not intentional but led to major consequences. Bell admitted he wasn’t sure how NASCAR would view the move, especially since another driver, Austin Hill, had just been suspended for a right-rear hook on Aric Almirola. Bell’s hit on Smith looked similar

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NASCAR will not penalize Christopher Bell for the Indy wreck

NASCAR has decided not to penalize Christopher Bell for the contact that wrecked Zane Smith at Indianapolis. The incident occurred on lap 162 during the second overtime restart. Smith was running close to the front, aiming for a top-10 finish, while Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson battled for the lead ahead of him.

Bell, trying to make a pass from the inside, misjudged the move and clipped the rear of Smith’s car. The No. 38 Ford was pushed into the outside wall, ending Smith’s race. Bell continued and finished eighth.

FOX Sports journalist Bob Pockrass reported the league’s decision on X. NASCAR classified the move as “aggressive, but mistimed,” and not an act of retaliation. Because it wasn’t intentional, officials chose not to impose a penalty.

This comes in contrast to the penalty handed to Austin Hill for a right-rear hook on Aric Almirola just a day before Bell’s incident. Christopher Bell remains fifth in the Cup Series standings, 42 points behind teammate Denny Hamlin.

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Edited by Pratham K Sharma