NASCAR Cup Bristol II
Losing out on Bristol win "terribly disappointing" for Bell
Christopher Bell completed a sweep of top-five finishes in the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs but wanted even more.
Jim Utter
Edited: Sep 18, 2022, 4:27 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
That’s not surprising considering how well he and his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team performed to begin the playoffs but weren’t able to capitalize with a victory.
Bell, 27, was leading Saturday night’s race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway when he had a flat right-rear tire and tagged the wall on Lap 436 of 500.
He managed to rally to a fourth-place finish, giving him a first round of fifth, third and fourth – the best performance of the 16 playoff drivers.
However, because the points are reset to begin Round 2 and Bell didn’t add to his win total, he drops from points leader to seventh among the 12 remaining drivers. He will enter Texas with 13 playoff points, 27 behind leader Chase Elliott.
Read Also:
- NASCAR Cup Series Round of 12 playoff grid
- Buescher ends 222-race winless streak with shock Bristol win
“It’s terribly disappointing. That’s two weeks in a row we have had speed, and the car underneath me to win the race, and haven’t done it,” Bell said. “Extremely proud of this No. 20 group. They keep bringing Camrys that are incredible to the race track.
“It makes me really excited about where we are going, especially Texas – which is one of my best race tracks. I proud of everyone on this group. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum.”
The second round will be filled with tough challenges with Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and the Charlotte Roval following Texas, which makes next weekend’s race even more important.
Luckily for Bell, he has been strong on intermediate tracks and in three career starts, he’s finished 21st, third and third.
“Looking at the next seven races, I would say Texas is arguably the most important race, outside of Phoenix (the championship race),” Bell said. “Talladega, we all know how that is – there is going to be some lucky guys, and some unlucky guys.
“Texas is kind of the one place where you can control your destiny into the next round and the winner is going to feel really good if it is a playoff car.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Kyle Busch "flabbergasted" as playoffs end with engine failure
Next article Elliott back atop the standings, but "nobody is safe"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jim Utter
Erik Jones agrees to multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Erik Jones agrees to multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club
Goodyear's option tires at Richmond "were like Mario Kart with a star"
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Goodyear's option tires at Richmond "were like Mario Kart with a star"
NASCAR: Austin Dillon move was "really close to crossing the line"
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
NASCAR: Austin Dillon move was "really close to crossing the line"
Latest news
Fernando Alonso backs IndyCar Barcelona race but warns against wider global expansion
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 14 min
Fernando Alonso backs IndyCar Barcelona race but warns against wider global expansion
MotoGP riders ask for guarantees to go and race in Qatar
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
41 min
MotoGP riders ask for guarantees to go and race in Qatar
Barcelona joins 2027 IndyCar schedule in multiyear deal
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 1 h
Barcelona joins 2027 IndyCar schedule in multiyear deal
Lamborghini Super Trofeo |Europe, Race 2: Salonen/Tuomaala take the win, Iaquinta/Gilardoni crowned champions
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
1 h
Lamborghini Super Trofeo |Europe, Race 2: Salonen/Tuomaala take the win, Iaquinta/Gilardoni crowned champions
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe