NASCAR reveals Christopher Bell wreck hardest in at least a decade

NASCAR has confirmed that Christopher Bell's terrifying wreck at Michigan on Sunday was the hardest of the Next Gen era.

Joe Gibbs Racing confirmed on Tuesday that Bell fractured his wrist in the high-speed wreck, but will be good to go for Sunday's race at Pocano.

The wreck occurred with about 50 laps remaining, Bell and Chase Elliott racing side by side in second and third position when Elliott's No. 9 got slightly out of shape in Turn 3 before snapping sharply right, making contact with Bell on the inside and sending the No. 20 violently into the SAFER barrier.

NASCAR vice president of racing communications Mike Forde revealed on this week's episode of the Hauler Talk podcast that the 'Delta-v', essentially the change in speed in the wreck, was the highest recorded in the Next Gen car.

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Bell's hit hardest for a decade

NASCAR managing director of safety systems Matt Harper added that while the Next Gen era only dates back to 2022, Bell's was the hardest hit in at least a decade.

“Delta-v is the measure of speed lost in an incident,” Forde said. “So if you’re going 200 mph and then all of a sudden you come to a stop because you hit a wall and scrub off X amount of speed, that difference is what the Delta-v is.

"I can’t give out the Delta-v number for Bell. That data is proprietary in a way. We share that with the team and the driver, and that’s their data to do with what they want. But we can confirm that it was the largest number we’ve seen in the Next Gen era.”

Joe Gibbs Racing and Christopher Bell release statements on injury

"Christopher Bell suffered a fractured left wrist after an accident on lap 148 of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway," a statement from Joe Gibbs Racing read.

"After being evaluated and released from the infield care center, Bell returned home to North Carolina where X-rays confirmed the fracture.

"Bell has been cleared and will be behind the wheel of the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE this weekend at Pocono Raceway."

Bell himself has also released a short statement, thanking those who checked up on him after the incident, which read: Thank you to each and everyone who reached out to check on me. I truly feel the love.

"I’m grateful for my team of doctors, JGR, NASCAR and all of the previous drivers who have helped pave the way for the safety standards in our sport.

"See you in Pocono!"