Bell holds off Gragson to win Xfinity race at Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Christopher Bell grabbed the lead out of a restart to begin the final stage and held off teammate Noah Gragson to win the NASCAR Xxfinity Series race at Richmond Raceway on Friday night.

Bell led by nearly 0.6 seconds at one point during the final stage, then had Gragson close onto his rear bumper with about 10 laps to go. But just as quickly as Gragson mounted a challenge in his first career start in the series, Bell again pulled away for his second career victory in the series.

Points leader and Virginia native Elliott Sadler finished third and won a $100,000 bonus as the top finisher in the Dash for Cash.

''To not win the race is bad, but to win the $100,000 is great,'' said Sadler, now winless in 30 career series starts on the 0.75-mile oval.

Daniel Hemric, another of the Dash for Cash contenders, had a strong early run and won the first stage, but chanced staying on the track with a failing tire late in the second stage. He eventually hit the wall and fell way off the pace, finishing 29th.

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