Steady Bell Cruises Into Round Of 8 With Momentum

Christopher Bell in action at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. (Scotte Sprinkle/Race Face Digital photo)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Christopher Bell didn’t need to do too much in order to advance into the Round of 8 before the checkered flag waved Sunday at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ROVAL.

However, the NASCAR Cup Series championship hopeful refused to let up and remained red-hot with a runner-up finish in the second elimination race of the postseason.

Beginning the Bank of America ROVAL 400 as the top-ranked driver not locked into the semi-final round – with a steep 52-point advantage above of the cutoff – Bell and the No. 20 team had the luxury of being able to breathe relatively easily, while a majority of the playoff contenders were forced to sweat it out at the tricky 2.28-mile road course-oval hybrid.

By virtue of strategy and seeking a win over stage points, Bell’s average-finishing position in the opening two 25-lap segments was right around where he qualified in 12th, taking the green-and-white-checkered flag in 11th and 12th, respectively.

In failing to tack on any additional points, the 29-year-old was unable to lock into the next round at the conclusion of the second stage, however, after running inside the top five for a majority of it, he’d established himself as one of the drivers to beat for the win.

With two cars out of the race to start the final 59-lap stint, including playoff driver Chase Briscoe, Bell was informed by crew chief Adam Stevens he’d need to finish 34th or better in order to officially point his way into the Round of 8.

Moments after taking the green flag, a caution flew for a crash in which Legacy Motor Club drivers Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek both retired from the event, in addition to Bell’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs, who headed to the garage with a transmission issue.

Thus, Bell and the No. 20 team were locked into the penultimate playoff round by lap 55.

For the remainder of the race, Bell was in hot pursuit of his second ROVAL victory, ripping the left-and-right handers with one of the fastest cars on track.

The only thing preventing Bell from a fourth win on the season was the sheer dominance of Kyle Larson, who led a race-high 62 laps en route to his series-best sixth win of the year.

With 15 to go, Bell trailed Larson by two seconds, but there was a point during the white-flag lap where he closed to within a half second of the eventual winner due to lapped traffic. In the end, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver crossed the finish line 1.511 seconds behind the No. 5 for his second runner-up this year.

“It feels good – I’ll be honest,” Bell said. “Happy for this DEWALT Toyota team. We had a goal today to win the race. That’s what we came here to do, and it was close. Me and the 5 (Larson) seemed like we were pretty evenly matched once we got out to our equal spacing. I would make a bad lap, and he would pull away, and he would make a bad lap, and I would close in. Hopefully, we get a redo in Phoenix.”

In placing second, Bell hasn’t finished lower than 14th over his last eight starts, with seven outings of seventh or better. During that stretch, he’s posted a series-best 5.5 average finish, as well as the best average in the postseason at 6.3. Additionally, he’s now matched a career-best 20 top 10s in a single season, which he first accomplished back in 2022.

Bell has made the Championship 4 in back-to-back seasons, and he’s proving yet again why he’s a threat to do so again. Third times could very well be the charm for the Norman, Okla., driver, who scored the victory at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway – site of the season finale – earlier this year.

First, Bell will have to make it through the Round of 8, beginning with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway on Oct. 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.