Photo: Burlington Bees pitcher Hector Yan has thrown 89 1/3 innings this season, almost 60 more than last season. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

Jack Howell had his first-of-the-month meeting with his team on Thursday.

The message the Burlington Bees manager had for his team was simple — finish strong.

“This will be about taking care of yourself and finishing strong,” Howell said. “Sometimes a season can be make-or-break in the last month, maybe the last week or 10 days, when you figure something out. Or you let your guard down, and end on a bad note. Be very careful to finish strong, and stay with the process, and go from there.”

Twenty-eight games remain in the season, and the Bees are starting to show some end-of-the-season blues. They’re on a seven-game losing streak, their longest of the season, and sit at 54-58 overall, their worst record of the season.

Howell said he didn’t want to call August, “the dog days,” but he knows it’s been a long season for his team, especially for players who have a.) been here since Opening Day and b.) are playing their first season in a full-season minor league.

A look at the numbers show that:

• Infielder Justin Jones played 48 games last season, and is at 71 this season.

• Infielder Kevin Maitan has played in 99 games in 2019, compared to 63 last season and 42 in 2017.

• Outfielder Nonie Williams has played in 93 games this season, compared to 40 last season, 43 in 2017 and 38 in 2017.

• Outfielder Francisco Del Valle is at 95 games, 30 more than last season.

• Outfielder Jordyn Adams, the Los Angeles Angels’ first-round pick in the 2018 MLB draft, has played in 90 games this season. He played 29 last season. Adams is currently on the injured list.

• Catcher Harrison Wenson is in his second season with the Bees, but has played in three more games this season — 64 as opposed to 61 in 2018.

The numbers difference is just as large among pitchers.

• Luis Alvarado has pitched 79 ⅔ innings this season, compared to 22 last season.

• Cole Duensing, currently on the injured list, has thrown 81 innings this season, compared to 52 ⅓ in 2018.

• Robinson Pina has pitched 90 ⅓ innings this season, as opposed to 44 last season.

• Kyle Tyler has pitched 92 ⅓ innings this season after throwing 24 ⅔ last season.

• Hector Yan has thrown 89 ⅓ innings this season, compared to 29 ⅔ last season.

Because of the long season, the pre-game routine is different heading into the final month.

Howell said work ramped up after the early cold part of the season. Batting practice time on the field would also include infielders taking a long session of ground balls.

Now, Howell said, there isn’t as much work. For example, in Tuesday’s game at Quad Cities, the Bees hit in the batting cage on the field, but did little infield work. On Wednesday, there was no cage hitting, but more infield work.

“When you’re in the second half, and there’s heat and humidity, and as much as these guys have been swinging the bat, you alternate,” Howell said. “A lot of the work with ground balls is select work, guys working on their set-ups or making back-hand plays, things like that.”

Howell understands the exhaustion — the Bees are currently nearing the end of a stretch of 15 road games with only five home games, and there is an upcoming 10-game road trip.

“If you haven’t played a hundred games in a season, with all of the buses and the commutes,” he said. “But other teams are doing the same thing. We just have to finish strong.”

THE MONTH THAT WAS

A look at the Bees’ month of July.

Record: 12-16

Batting average: .236

Opponents’ batting average: .222

ERA: 3.35

Notes: Infielder Adrian Rondon batted .368 in nine games. … Outfielder Francisco Del Valle batted .301 with an .846 OPS in 27 games. … Parker Joe Robinson went 3-0. … Pitcher Kyle Tyler was 2-1 with an 0.96 ERA. … Hector Yan was 2-1 with a 3.04 ERA. … Reliever Ed Del Rosario went 2-0.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Record: 0-7

Batting average: .210

Opponents’ batting average: .269

ERA: 6.05

Opponents’ ERA: 2.29

Notes: Infielder Livan Soto batted .391 and has a 6-game hitting streak. … Outfielder Ryan Vega hit .318.

THE WEEK AHEAD

• At Cedar Rapids (6:35 p.m. Monday and Tuesday) — The Bees close a four-game series, and the season series, against the Kernels, who have won 12 of the 16 games between the two teams.

• Wisconsin (6:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday) — It’s the last appearance of the season for the Timber Rattlers at Community Field. The two teams have split the first eight games.

• Kane County (6:30 p.m. Saturday and Monday, 2 p.m. Sunday) — It’s also the last appearance of the season for the Cougars at Community Field. The Cougars have a 7-6 lead in the season series.

Photo: Rayneldy Rosario singles to drive in the only run for the Burlington Bees in Friday’s 4-1 loss to Quad Cities. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

It’s Baseball 101, Jack Howell said, and the Burlington Bees are learning some hard lessons lately.

Friday’s 4-1 loss to the Quad Cities River Bandits at Community Field was the latest example.

The River Bandits broke a ninth-inning tie with only one hit — a concoction of walks, soft ground balls that looked troublesome from the moment they were hit, and a sacrifice fly.

It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Bees (54-56 overall, 15-25 second half), who have fallen to their worst winning percentage of the season.

Asked if his team was frustrated, Howell, the Bees’ manager, said, “I mean frustration for the most part — we’re in these games, and we’re losing. I would say yes.”

The Bees led 6-0 in Thursday’s game, and lost 7-6. Four of their losses in this current stretch have been by three runs or less.

“The only game we won recently was 15-5 (on Sunday in Peoria), and that’s not realistic,” Howell said. “We’re giving up too much, and we’re not getting enough. That’s Baseball 101. The combo is not working in our favor right now.”

The other part of the education is the Bees aren’t keeping runners off base. Three of the runs in this game were from batters who had walked.

Hector Yan walked Michael Wielansky to lead off the game, and he scored.

In the ninth, reliever Greg Veliz (0-1) walked Freudis Nova and Grae Kessinger with one out. Alex Holderbach, who slammed a two-run home run in the ninth inning of Thursday’s game, didn’t need any power for the go-ahead run in this game, hitting a slow chopper down the third-base line for an infield single that scored Nova. Kessinger scored when Ramiro Rodriguez hit a ground ball to second, a fielder’s choice that led to a late throw to the plate by Adrian Rondon. A sacrifice fly by Oscar Campos ended the scoring.

“As good as Yan pitches, the only run he gives up? First hitter of the game was a walk,” Howell said. “And then Veliz gets the ground out and then walks two, and they both score. You put men on base…”

Burlington’s lone run came in the seventh. Ryan Vega doubled to lead off the inning and scored on Rayneldy Rosario’s single to tie the game.

Garrett Gayle (1-1) was the winning pitcher.

Photo: Keith Rogalla threw four no-hit innings in his first start of the season with the Burlington Bees. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

It was almost like Keith Rogalla hadn’t been gone for more than a year.

Same ballpark.

Same opponent.

Same catcher.

OK, so it was probably about 40 degrees warmer. Other than that…

Rogalla made his first appearance at Community Field since suffering an elbow injury almost 16 months ago, throwing four no-hit innings, a memorable night in a mostly forgettable game for the Burlington Bees.

The Bees held Quad Cities without a hit for six innings, then surrendered all of the River Bandits’ runs in the final three innings of a 7-6 loss in Thursday’s Class A Midwest League game.

Alex Holderbach’s two-run home run off reliever Mayky Perez (0-5) with two outs in the ninth inning capped the stunning rally on a night when the Bees appeared to have shaken off the funk of the previous week and a half.

Rogalla, a 12th-round pick for the Los Angeles Angels in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, walked one and struck out four in his seventh start of the season. He threw 48 pitches, 31 for strikes, a brisk performance.

“That was nice, huh?” Bees manager Jack Howell said. “Four innings, no hits, four (strikeouts). Man. And worked quick, went right at guys. Pounded the zone.”

Rogalla was hurt on April 13, 2018, in a game against the River Bandits at Community Field. He had thrown his 33rd pitch of the night, the 80th pitch of his season, when he grabbed his elbow in pain.

Rogalla underwent Tommy John surgery later that month, and didn’t pitch again until this season. He pitched in five games with the Angels’ Arizona League team, going 0-3 with an 18.47 earned run average. He then went to the Rookie League team in Orem, where he was 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA in two starts.

This night was almost perfect. Rogalla retired the first seven hitters before walking Trey Dawson. Dawson was thrown out trying to steal second, and Rogalla then retired the next four hitters, finishing his night having faced the minimum 12 batters.

“It was kind of funny,” Rogalla said. “I remembered the last time, when I got hurt, it was against Quad Cities, and Harrison (Wenson) was catching me. So it brought back a little memory.

“It feels good to be back. The whole goal was to get here by the end of the year, and get some competitive innings again. Get healthy, get back out there, get acclimated to competition again.”

“I had no idea,” Howell said when asked what he expected from Rogalla. “I had no idea what he had been doing. I knew he was going to be at four innings, 60 pitches. And if you see something shaky…”

Did he see anything shaky?

“No,” Howell said. “He was really good.”

“In the ‘pen, stuff wasn’t working great,” Rogalla said. “Sometimes, that’s when the best outings happen. I knew I had good command of my fastball, which is always key for me. Harry called a really good game, we were in sync. Just kind of kept rolling from there.”

The Bees were rolling until they weren’t.

Photo: Rayneldy Rosario hits a two-run double in the sixth inning. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

Burlington, which had lost eight of its previous 10 games, got two runs in the first on RBI singles from Francisco Del Valle and Nonie Williams, then added four runs in the sixth on a two-run double from Reyneldy Rosario and a two-run single by Livan Soto.

But Quad Cities wasn’t going away. They got a run in the seventh off reliever Dylan King, who had retired the first six hitters he had faced, then got two more runs in the eighth off him.

Perez got the final out of the eighth, then got the first out of the ninth. Austin Dennis doubled, then Freudis Nova struck out for the second out of the inning.

Dennis scored on a wild pitch when Ramiro Rodriguez walked. Grae Kessinger slammed a double into the left-center field gap to score Rodriguez to cut the lead to 6-5. Then Holderbach powered a long home run to left field, his fifth of the season.

“Gosh dang it,” Howell said. “You’re in the seventh inning, up 6-0, and lose 7-6. Not much you can say.”

The positive of the night was Rogalla.

“It’s been tough, to say the least,” he said. “It’s been a long journey. I had never gotten injured before, so having that come about was a little tough to deal with at first. But having a good support system, with family and with the Angels, just seeing there’s light at the end of the tunnel, allowed me to get through. Yeah, it was challenging at times. It’s a long process. But just happy to be back and be healthy.

“You try to stay positive. Obviously those thoughts creep in your head, you know. What’s going to happen when you come back? Are you going to be the same (pitcher)? I just tried to keep a positive mindset, try to trust what the trainers were saying. Just trust that process, and hope that the work pays off.”

(Photo: Burlington Bees pitcher Luis Ramirez delivers a pitch in the sixth inning on a clear night at Modern Woodmen Field)

By John Bohnenkamp

DAVENPORT — It wasn’t a matter of getting hits for the Burlington Bees.

It was the matter of getting the right hits.

The Bees had nine hits in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Quad Cities River Bandits, but the timely hits — the ones that drive in runs — weren’t there.

“We swung the bats well, we just didn’t get the hits when we needed them,” Bees manager Jack Howell said.

The Bees (54-53 overall, 15-22 second half) had runners in scoring position in six of the nine innings, but the only run they could get came in the fifth inning, when Harrison Wenson scored on Connor Fitzsimons’ sacrifice fly.

Other than that, it was a series of missed chances — the Bees were 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position — and it started right away. The Bees had three hits in the first inning, but didn’t score.

Livan Soto led off the game with a single. Kevin Maitan followed with a slicing drive that Quad Cities left fielder Alex McKenna trapped. McKenna then got up and threw Soto out at third.

“(McKenna) is going to have to make a perfect throw on that play, and he did,” Howell said.

Adrian Rondon then singled to right field to send Maitan to third. Francisco Del Valle then hit a line drive that third baseman Trey Dawson caught with a dive, then Dawson got up to double up Rondon at first.

That was just the beginning.

Nonie Williams had a one-out triple in the second, but was stranded when Wenson and Ryan Vega struck out.

Fitzsimons led off the third with a double and moved to third base on Maitan’s one-out grounder to the right side, but was left there.

Quad Cities (63-40, 20-17) took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on Oscar Campos’ single that scored Freudis Nova and Grae Kessinger.

The fifth looked like it could be a big inning for the Bees. Wenson doubled and advanced to third on Vega’s single. Fitzsimons hit his sacrifice fly to score Wenson, then Vega advanced to second on a wild throw to the plate by Quad Cities right fielder Carlos Machado. But Soto hit a fly ball to right field that moved Vega to third, then Maitan struck out to end the inning.

Quad Cities added single runs in the sixth and seventh. Campos drove in a run with a single in the sixth, then McKenna’s single in the seventh brought home Cesar Salazar.

The Bees threatened in the ninth. Del Valle walked to lead off the inning, then Justin Jones doubled. But Williams and Wenson struck out, then Vega was retired on a checked-swing grounder to end the game.

Kyle Tyler (6-1) suffered his first loss of the season. He walked three and struck out one in four innings.

Abdiel Saldana (1-0) struck out five and allowed eight hits in six innings. Brett Daniels pitched three scoreless innings for his second save. The two pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts.

“Too many strikeouts, and we couldn’t get the big hit,” Howell said.

Photo: Bees first baseman Connor Fitzsimons celebrates after a grand slam against the Quad Cities River Bandits earlier this season. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

SERIES FACTS

Game times: 6:35 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday.

Where: Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport for Tuesday-Wednesday, Community Field for Thursday-Friday

Second-half records: Bees 15-21, River Bandits 19-17

Overall records: Bees 54-52, River Bandits 62-40

Season series: River Bandits lead, 6-5

TEAM COMPARISONS

Last 10: Bees 4-6, River Bandits 4-6

Home vs. road: Bees are 32-24 at home, 22-28 on the road. River Bandits are 25-22 at home, 37-18 on the road.

Run differential: Bees plus-8, River Bandits plus-89

Extra innings: Bees 7-4, River Bandits 6-2

One-run games: Bees 22-18, River Bandits 15-11

HEAD TO HEAD

Batting average: Bees .187, River Bandits .243

ERA: Bees 4.40, River Bandits 3.73

WHAT TO WATCH

The two teams were 1-2 in the Midwest League’s Western Division for most of the latter part of the first half. The Bees got to the River Bandits early, winning three of the first four games to start the season. Quad Cities went on to win the division title, while the Bees missed out on the tiebreaker for the second playoff spot in the division.

Quad Cities has the fifth-best record in the Western Division in the second half, but the No. 2 record overall in the league for the season. The Bees are eight games out of the second playoff spot with 34 games to play.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Bees catcher Harrison Wenson has hit well against Quad Cities, with a .304 batting average and a 1.060 OPS. Wenson and first baseman Connor Fitzsimons have each driven in six runs against the River Bandits. Infielder Livan Soto has a .273 average with a 1.060 OPS against Quad Cities.

Quad Cities outfielder Carlos Machado has a .500 average and a 1.250 OPS against the Bees in three games. Infielder David Hensley has driven in six runs against the Bees, as has infielder Michael Wielansky.

Only four pitchers on the current Quad Cities roster have made a start against the Bees.

— John Bohnenkamp

Photo: Bees reliever Greg Veliz hasn’t allowed a run in three appearances since joining the team in mid-July. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

By John Bohnenkamp

Greg Veliz is 22 years old.

“I’m not a young 22-year-old,” the Burlington Bees reliever said, laughing.

Chad Sykes is 23.

They were two members of the Los Angeles Angels’ 2019 draft class in June, and they’ve made it to the Midwest League.

Veliz and Sykes are showing that experience matters, as college pitchers who have already played a full season and are transitioning to professional baseball.

Veliz has pitched in three games with the Bees, not allowing a run in 4 ⅔ innings while striking out three. Sykes has made two appearances, allowing one hit and three walks while striking out six in four innings.

“It’s definitely a transition from college,” said Sykes, who was picked in the 10th round out of UNC-Greensboro, where he led NCAA Division I with an 0.96 earned run average this season. “Just knowing your role on the team.”

“I was excited when I was sent here,” said Veliz, a 15th-round choice out of Miami (Fla.).

They’ve shown so far just what Bees manager Jack Howell has come to expect out of college pitchers.

“Those guys come in pretty salty,” Howell said. “It doesn’t always mean that they’re going to dominate and be effective. It is pro ball, they’re trying to show what they can do. But what you notice is, they’re not as (nervous). They’re used to being in pressure situations.

“These guys have all come to us with two or three pitches that they can throw in most counts, and throw strikes.”

Veliz proved Howell’s point in last Thursday’s 5-3 win over Beloit at Community Field. In the ninth inning, he fell behind 3-1 to Anthony Churlin leading off the inning, and got Churlin to foul out. Veliz got a 3-0 count on Skyler Weber, worked the count back to 3-2, then got Weber on a comebacker. He fell behind Nick Ward 3-0, worked the count back to 3-2, then got an infield grounder to end the game.

“He probably wasn’t his 100 percent self,” Howell said. “But he’s got good stuff and he seems like a guy who has been in those kind of situations.

“These guys that come from experience, they kind of know how to get back on track.”

Both pitchers were closers at their schools — Sykes was 6-3 with 11 saves, and Veliz was 2-1 with eight saves.

“Being able to get out of jams, crazy situations, and get out of them, that experience is huge,” Sykes said. “I would say college, in general, has definitely helped me as far as being here. If I had to do it again, I would do it the same way.”

“Out of high school, I wanted to sign (to play professionally), but I’m glad I turned it down,” Veliz said. “Just from the maturing process. If I’m 19 or 20, getting to 3-0 out here, I’m probably freaking out — 3-0 counts, I’m probably walking them all. But now with experience, going to college, getting the discipline, being around older guys, being part of a team, it definitely helps. It matures you a lot.

“It makes you relax. You’ve been there a lot. You’ve been there 100 times, so you know what it’s like.”

Photo: Chad Sykes was a 10th-round pick of the Angels in the June MLB draft. (Steve Cirinna/Burlington Bees)

As college pitchers, their seasons started in late February. Sykes pitched 56 innings in 27 games at UNCG, and Veliz pitched 42 ⅓ innings in 30 games at Miami.

Their schedules in college included pitching in two games, and maybe all three, in weekend series.

Now, there is more time between appearances. Veliz had five days of rest between his three games with the Bees, and Sykes has pitched just three times since July 12.

“It’s like a blessing and a curse,” Veliz said. “Your arm feels great, but you’re not on the mound every day or every other day. You’ve got to get in side sessions more than I did in college. Sometimes in college we would throw two, maybe three times. Now we’re getting more breaks.”

“It’s almost weird having four or five days off here,” Sykes said. “In college, you’re used to throwing back-to-back days. Or throwing Friday, resting Saturday, throwing Sunday. It’s nice, but it’s also cool to throw every other day, just because you’re into it. As far as arm health, it’s definitely better, since we’ve already thrown upwards of 70 innings.”

Both pitchers were sent to the Angels’ Rookie League team in Orem to start the season. Veliz struck out 15 in 10 ⅔ innings, while Sykes struck out 15 in 9 ⅔ innings.

Veliz was added to the Bees’ roster on July 14. Sykes was promoted on July 23.

Veliz went on the road with the team for a six-game trip to play at Lansing and Great Lakes, and found that life in the Midwest League was going to be better.

“In Orem, you’ve got 35, 40 guys, so you’re crunched up on a coach bus,” Veliz said, laughing. “You would have to hit the deck. Lay on the floor.”

Then he got on the bus with the Bees.

“Leather seats, more room, Gatorade for everyone,” Veliz said. “Yeah, travel, a hundred times better.”

Both pitchers were added to a clubhouse environment with players who had been here since the beginning of the season.

“It’s exciting to move up,” Sykes said. “Coming in, you’re ready to do it, but you don’t know what to expect. You don’t know how guys are going to be. But they welcomed me, like we were here the whole year.”

“Everyone welcomed me with open arms,” Veliz said. “They were really cool about it.”

It’s been a quick introduction to the professional game, but both pitchers appreciate the moment.

“It’s a dream come true,” Sykes said. “When I was a kid, I dreamed of playing professional baseball. I never really had the expectation of playing professional baseball until a couple of years ago, when I thought this could actually happen. It’s really cool seeing it play out and happen.”

“Yeah, dream come true,” Veliz said. “For sure.”

BASEBALL AMERICA RANKINGS

Baseball America released its Best Tools rankings in the August issue.

Bees pitcher Jose Soriano was selected as having the best breaking ball in the Midwest League, according to a poll of the league’s managers.

Outfielder Jo Adell, who played for the Bees in 2018, was voted the Double-A Southern League’s Most Exciting Player.

NEW MLB.COM RANKINGS

MLB.com has updated its prospect rankings at midseason.

Adell was ranked the No. 1 prospect in the Angels’ organization, and No. 4 overall. He was ranked the top outfield prospect overall.

Six current Bees were on the Angels’ top 30 prospects list. Outfielder Jordyn Adams was No. 3. Soriano was No. 12. Infielder Livan Soto was 18th. Pitcher Hector Yan was 19th. Infielder Kevin Maitan was 25th. Pitcher Robinson Pina was 29th.

Bees alumni on the list were outfielder Brandon Marsh (No. 2), infielder Matt Thaiss (No. 6), infielder Jahmai Jones (No. 7), pitcher Jose Suarez (No. 8), pitcher Luis Madero (No. 14), pitcher Chris Rodriguez (No. 17), pitcher Oliver Ortega (No. 20), pitcher Jeremy Beasley (No. 21), two-way player Jared Walsh (24th), infielder Leonardo Rivas (No. 27) and outfielder Michael Hermosillo (No. 28).

OPERATION GRAND SLAM

Maitan and Justin Jones each had grand slams in the Bees’ 15-5 win over Peoria on Sunday.

Maitan now leads the Bees with nine home runs, and is tied for the RBI lead with 39. Jones is fourth on the team with seven home runs.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Record: 2-4

Batting average: .245

Opponents’ average: .209

ERA: 3.98

Opponents’ ERA: 5.26

Notes: Outfielder Francisco Del Valle batted .458 for the week and drove in five runs. … Maitan batted .333 for the week. … Infielder Adrian Rondon batted .308 for the week.

THE WEEK AHEAD

• Quad Cities (6:35 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday) — Another four-game home-and-home with the River Bandits, the first two games in Davenport and the second two at Community Field. The Bees are 5-6 against Quad Cities this season.

• At Cedar Rapids (6:35 p.m. Saturday and next Monday and Tuesday, 2:05 p.m. Sunday) — The final time the Bees will see the Kernels this season. Cedar Rapids has won 10 of the 14 games against Burlington.

STAT PACK

Outfielder Nonie Williams is sixth in the league with 50 walks. Outfielder Spencer Griffin is tied for seventh with 49. … Griffin is tied for eighth in runs with 55. He tied for sixth in triples with six. … Pitcher Kyle Tyler is second in ERA at 2.75 and in batting average against at .188. He is third in WHIP at 1.00. … Pitcher Hector Yan leads the league with 117 strikeouts, while Robinson Pina is tied for third at 107. … Batters are hitting .214 against Pina, which ranks him seventh in the league.

Photo: Chase Briscoe pauses during the press conference after his win in Saturday’s U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway.

By John Bohnenkamp

NEWTON — It was Christopher Bell’s show.

It was Chase Briscoe’s win.

The final race of the season at Iowa Speedway was more Bell domination until it wasn’t.

Bell’s Goodyears were dying as the laps ran out in Saturday’s U.S. Cellular 250. The four tires on Briscoe’s Ford Mustang were fresh, and grabbed the pavement of the .875-mile oval better as the sun was setting.

Which is why Briscoe led the last seven laps for the second win of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career.

Briscoe had speed all day, but he said, “I felt like we had a second-place car,” a thought his crew chief would echo.

It turned out that it was first place, actually, with just the right moves.

“There’s a lot of times,” Briscoe said, “the fastest car doesn’t win the race.”

Briscoe got by Bell on Lap 244 after testing him for a couple of laps. Once Briscoe was in front, Bell had no chance.

“That was tough, holding him off as long as I did,” Bell said. “The best bet to win the race was to stay on his door, try to chase him into the corner.

“I don’t know, looking back on it, it’s always easy to … I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Briscoe’s strategy nearly was a disaster. When the leaders pitted under caution with 99 laps to go, the call was for Briscoe to take fuel only, and save his final set of tires for later in the race.

Briscoe fell back to 14th on the restart, and Bell, who took his final set of tires, started pulling away again.

“I don’t know,” Bell said of his strategy. “It’s kind of damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you don’t.”

“I just felt like 99 laps to go was too early to put our last set on,” said Richard Boswell, Briscoe’s crew chief. “But I also knew if we didn’t pit for fuel, we would be in trouble. It was a gamble. I thought we had a second-place car all day to Christopher. We were just little adjustments away from being there. I knew as soon as those guys said they were going to pit for four tires, I knew that was an opportunity to win the race.

“Heroes or zeroes. Fortunately for us it worked out.”

Briscoe would get his final set more than 50 laps later after Michael Annett’s spin brought out a caution flag, but there still were concerns.

“I was definitely getting worried, just because our car definitely changed a lot whenever we got back (in traffic),” Briscoe said. “My biggest thing was not knowing where Bell was. If we get a lap down, our strategy was out the window.”

Briscoe battled side-by-side with John Hunter Nemechek, racing on a similar strategy, before he could get to Bell.

“I wasn’t worried about burning my stuff up getting (to Bell), I was worried about just giving Bell so much of a lead that once I did single-file out, I wouldn’t be able to get back to (Bell),” Briscoe said.

There was a familiarity between Briscoe and Bell that stemmed not just from racing each other on the track, but going against each other in online competitions.

Briscoe finally got by Bell with a pass that started in Turns 1 and 2, and was completed in 3 and 4.

“I think we both drove in there wide-open, so far past where we should have been going,” Briscoe said. “But we knew whoever had the top (line) on the exit would win the race. We were able to do it.”

Bell led 234 laps to become the all-time leader in Xfinity laps led at the track. Bell, who had won the last two Xfinity Series races here, also won the first two stages, extending his stage-win streak to seven.

It was similar dominance to what Bell did in the June race here. Not that there was a lot of attention to that on that day — while Bell was running away with the CircuitCity.com 250, leading 186 laps, the media center focus was more on Ross Chastain’s win-then-disqualification in the Truck Series race earlier that day.

It seemed to be all Bell’s show on Saturday. He was the fastest driver in qualifying, and the fastest driver for almost all of the race.

He couldn’t finish the performance.

“A heck of an effort, guys,” Bell said. “Just not enough.”

“The 20 was definitely in a league of his own,” Briscoe said.

Briscoe was the one who left with the win.

“There’s multiple variables. There’s restarts. There’s pit strategy, everything else,” Briscoe said. “I don’t care how we won it, we won it. It’s not like we were a 15th-place car all day. We were a second or third-place. I agree, (Bell) was the class of the field. But he could have done the same thing.

“Hats off to our guys for trying something different. And it obviously paid off.”