Watch: Christopher Bell spins in NASCAR playoff race at Martinsville, Martin Truex Jr. suffers pit road penalty

Before the spin, Bell reported that his Camry was suffering from a loose condition, which contributed to the spin. Bell's path to the Championship Four is now much more difficult. 

Bell wasn't the only Joe Gibbs Racing car to suffer a major setback early, however. 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. — who is in the final full-time Cup Series season of his career — was fastest in practice on Saturday and won the pole position for the race. Truex led the first 42 laps of the contest before being passed by Chase Elliott, William Byron and Chase Briscoe, but still ran inside the top five and had good speed. 

Unfortunately, disaster struck on pit road, as a speeding penalty — the third in the last four in Martinsville for Truex — relegated him to the back of the pack, as well as placing him one lap behind the race leaders.

After a strong showing in Saturday's sessions, many had Truex circled as a favorite in what could be his final chance to win a Cup Series race. Now, it appears that it'll be an uphill battle for Truex to pull off the feel-good victory.