For the first time in the Gen 7 cars, a driver has won 3 consecutive races and his name is Christopher Bell. Now what’s next for this young gun? With only four weeks passed in this new season, Bell is already putting himself about the rest of the pack.
Phoenix Sweet Phoenix for Bell:
There’s no mistaking Christopher Bell is one of the most talented young drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. In last week’s NASCAR article, I highlighted that Bell had BARELY won his previous two races. He was only to lead a handful of laps when it mattered and seemingly won those first two races out of nowhere. But Phoenix, once again, proved to be Bell’s playground, leading a race high 105 laps and securing a victory in one of the closest finishes in Phoenix history, edging out Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson at the line.
A late caution had Hamlin and Bell restarting side by side on the front row, but neither driver could get the edge heading into the white flag lap. Bell seemed to gain the edge headin into to turn one, but Hamlin had a good run and kept his nose on Bell’s quarter panel. The duel between the two allowed Larson to close in and try to take the bottom line as the three entered the tri-oval heading to the checkered. Coming out of turn four, Bell was able to run Hamlin up the track a bit and slow his momentum and the run Bell had coming to the line allowed him a 0.045 second victory over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin.
The win at Phoenix moves Bell into second place in the points standing, just 13 points behind William Byron. Three wins at this point in the season may not seem like much, but those playoff points will be huge once the playoffs begin later this year. But before we can even think about the playoffs, we head into Las Vegas, Nevada for another round of racing in the desert. The only question is, can anyone stop Bell’s momentum heading into Sin City?
The Bullring in Sin City: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
The one and a half mile tri-oval, in the Nevada desert, is the next stop on Cup Series circuit. A track very similar to Phoenix, Christopher Bell is easily a clear favorite and someone everyone is watching out for. Hendrick Motorsports driver, Kyle Larson, is the defending champion of the race and could easily put a crimp in Bell’s plan to lock up four consecutive wins. If Larson can’t pull it off, maybe his teammate, and points leader, William Byron could get the job done. Although, if you look at the track they’re heading to, some may think that the hometown guy Kyle Busch could be a clear favorite. Unfortunately for the Vegas native, he hasn’t won at his home track since 2009, which, coincidentally, is the ONLY victory Busch has secured in Las Vegas. One thing is for certain, Bell carries the most momentum heading into Las Vegas and he’s gonna be hard to stop this weekend.
Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube
You can catch this race on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 PM eastern standard time, live on FS1. If you’re into listening to the radio broadcast, tune into PRN, the Performance Racing Network or find the NASCAR channel on Sirius XM radio. I think it’s safe to say, after my initial NASCAR post, I may just have become a fan of Christopher Bell over the past few weeks.
Christopher Bell is on a legendary run in NASCAR, don’t think he could go for 4 consecutive wins? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, BlueSky, or TikTok. Email us at [email protected] and we’ll share the story on the show. Join our Discord for further discussion with the GENY community!