We’re entering the fourth week of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season and already, Christopher Bell is making a huge statement with back to back victories at Atlanta and Circuit of the Americas. But will his momentum hold up for the rest of the season?
Back-To-Back Victories To Begin The Season
To say Christopher Bell is starting this season off with a bang, would be an understatement. After a late crash in the Daytona 500, Bell has bounced back with not only a victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway in week two, but he conquered the 2.4 mile, 17-turn road course known as Circuit of the Americas just last week in Austin, Texas. His win at Atlanta was the first win for Joe Gibbs Racing since June of last year, and the win, which was a photo finish at the line, gave Bell the only lap he led in that race, proving that you don’t have to be the dominant driver of the day to pick up the win, you just have to be in the right spot at the right time.
Last week, at Circuit of the Americas, or CotA as they call it, was a pretty similar situation. The Austin, Texas road course, which has been a home to Formula One Racing until recent years, was dominated mostly by Kyle Busch, who led a race high 43 laps on the day. Bell would take the lead from Busch with 5 laps to go, then proceed to fight off reigning Daytona 500 champ William Byron, who raced him cleanly in the final laps and only lost to Bell by 0.433 seconds, giving Bell two wins in a row on two completely different styles of racetrack. And now, in week four, we head to an intermediate track that Bell is ALL too familiar with.
Driving In The Desert Never Looked So Fun
This week’s race takes us to Avondale, Arizona and Phoenix Raceway. The 1 mile, low-banked tri-oval will host the Shriners Children’s 500, which is a 312 lap race and, coincidentally, the defending champion of this race is none other than Christopher Bell. Bell will look to become the first driver since Kyle Larson in 2021 to win three consecutive races. Larson did it twice in the 2021 season, which led to him being crowned Cup Champion at the end of the season. I’m not saying Bell is going to win the championship this year, but if you read my previous post, Bell is quickly climbing the short list of drivers that I may begin to root for. The 30-year-old, Oklahoma native is looking to continue his dominance this weekend at a track he’s all too comfortable driving at. In last year’s season finale at Phoenix, he led a race high 143 laps and secured a top 5 finish. Last year’s performances at Phoenix make him a clear favorite to win not only this week’s race, but his third consecutive race.
Now let’s take a look at what we’re discussing here. This season is 36 weeks long, including a 4-round playoff to finish off the season. We’re only entering week 4, and already discussing a monumental run that could lead to a championship? Well why not? There’s no denying that Bell, who has already secured a playoff spot with two victories, isn’t already a top driver on the circuit. If you take a second, and look back at some of the names that have driven for Joe Gibbs Racing, I’m sure you’ll agree that Bell is one to watch for. Gibbs, the Super Bowl winning coach-turned-NASCAR team owner, has won championships with drivers like Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte, and Tony Stewart; and if you’re a die-hard NASCAR fan, well then you already know those three names are legendary when it comes to racing.
Where And When To Watch
You can catch this Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 from Phoenix Raceway LIVE at 3:30 eastern standard time on FS1 and on the radio on MRN: the Motor Racing Network. Don’t miss this race, it’s sure to be action packed from green flag to checkered.
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