Nearly 23 cars were involved in some sort of accident during today’s race in Michigan. Among them all, Christopher Bell probably had the most serious and possibly one of the scariest NASCAR crashes. And now, Chase Elliott can’t help but feel guilty for ultimately ruining Bell’s race and giving him a scare on track due to the said crash.

After his race ended, Elliott was approached by the media about the said incident. He didn’t mince any words as he accepted that the entire fiasco was his fault altogether.

“That was my fault; I ran the bottom, and it ran loose. I thought I was going to spin, and I kind of committed to spinning out and just hoping I could spin. And as soon as I started committing to spin, it hooked right,” he admits.

Ultimately, he revealed that he was particularly bummed about the incident since Bell is one of the few drivers who tries to race him respectfully on track.

“Hate it happened to anybody, but certainly guys he races me with a lot of respect, and it was nothing intentional; I just went over the line and overcorrected. It was just a huge hit for him, a pretty big hit for me too, and I knew that when it happened, you were watching the wall come quickly.

“That’s gonna be hard. He had already hit the wall hard before I hit him. So those things happen fast, and I saw it happen. I knew it was big, so I just wanted to make sure he was alright. So I said, ‘Sorry, it was not my intention.'”

While racing each other, it appeared that Elliott’s rear got loose, and he slightly tapped Christopher Bell’s car. Due to that contact, Bell was sent straight into the barriers before Elliott’s car came crashing out of control and nearly T-boned him into the wall. The impact was so severe that NASCAR had to throw out red flags in order to repair the barriers. It took around 30-minutes for the crew to restore the wall and get the racing going again on the track.

Immediately after the incident, Elliott was seen approaching Bell for what he now reveals was a sincere apology about the crash. Bell didn’t mind it, but it was rather a heavy hit for him. When he was released from the medical center, he refused to answer the media. The only update so far was that team owner Joe Gibbs said Bell had injuries to his wrist and ankles, but didn’t share the full details or the severity of the injuries.

The impact of the crash was strong enough to create panic among the other drivers about his well-being.

Drivers react to Christopher Bell’s scary encounter

Even though they are on-track rivals, the drivers have a genuine connection off track as fellow NASCAR racers. So it is quite obvious that none of them felt comfortable watching Christopher Bell get absolutely smashed into the barriers at such a high speed.

After watching Bell’s crash, Ryan Preece was immediately concerned about his well-being. “Let me know if he’s OK. That was wild,” he radioed over to his team. Preece’s anxiety was echoed by Bubba Wallace, who was terrified of the same. “Holy s**t. Please tell me that guy’s all right,” Wallace panicked over his radio.

Ultimately, the SAFER barriers were destroyed, but in doing so, they saved Christopher Bell by breaking his crash and keeping him under control, not allowing him to bounce back on track. His crash was no different from the one that Dale Earnhardt experienced two decades ago. Fortunately, the safety equipment and preparations were good enough to avoid a tragedy this time around.

NASCAR’s Mike Forde couldn’t help but emphasize the importance of the same. In a social media post, he thanked the NASCAR R&D and let the public know about their work, which ultimately saved a driver in today’s race.

“So many times, I’ve said to myself, ‘Thank God John Patalak is on our team.’ This is certainly one of those times. Tireless work from him and his team at the NASCAR R&D Center to make a dangerous sport as safe as possible.”

The way Christopher Bell crashed into the barriers is surely no joke. The speed and intensity of the impact are bound to send shivers down the spine of anyone witnessing the same. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope that he is devoid of any serious implications.