Christopher Bell is all smiles as he has the pole for Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Justin Sheldon | The Podium Finish)
LAS VEGAS — Christopher Bell may be flying under the radar in this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Entering Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the 29-year-old native of Norman, Oklahoma, has the best average finish in the first six races of the Playoffs at 6.33.
Bell has not won a race since the USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 23. Despite the dry spell, he has three victories and ranks second in the Playoffs standings heading into the kickoff race for the Round of 8.
On Saturday, the driver of the No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE was quiet in practice much like his performances in the Playoffs. Posting the 13th fastest overall time and 25th fastest in a 10-lap average run, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran showcased his pace in qualifying, logging the fastest times in Group A and the 10-driver, final round.
If there were any thoughts of Bell wishing he had more attention on him with his efforts, think again.
Christopher Bell took his third Busch Light Pole Award and repeated this feat in last year’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Justin Sheldon | The Podium Finish)
“You know, I’ve been asked this about 18 times,” Bell said, drawing some laughter with the assembled press. “I don’t care. I just don’t care. I’m going to do my deal, whether I’m headlines or I’m not headlines. I’m going to be frustrated whenever I lose, and I’m going to be happy whenever I win, no matter what the headlines say.
“I don’t care if you guys talk about me or not. I’m going to try my hardest to win the race, and that is that.”
Earning his third Busch Light Pole Award of the year, Bell was the polesitter in last year’s race at Las Vegas. If there is a statistic he hopes to change on Sunday afternoon, he would like to finally convert a pole position to a race victory.
“A lot of execution. Las Vegas, and all of these Cup races, are just really long races and there is a lot of things that go on between the green flag and the checkered flag that dictates the outcome of the race,” Bell observed. “I’ve sat in this position many times now, and I’ve yet to win the race on Sunday starting from that first position.
“We’ve come close several times, and this is a great race track for me. I’m optimistic about it and I felt really good in practice. Sometimes that means more than you see in qualifying. I think we have the car to do it, and hopefully, I’m up for the job, our team executes well, and we are able to put it all together.”
Christopher Bell may fly under the radar, but he makes it clear how he wants to win the South Point 400 at Las Vegas. (Photo: Justin Sheldon | The Podium Finish)
Much like Matt Kenseth, known for his sardonic sense of humor, Bell interlaced some witticism with a genuine takeaway from last year’s critical race that was decided between himself and Kyle Larson, the defending race winner.
“Don’t lose the battle off pit road,” he quipped to the amusement of the press. “In all reality, I think that race came down to that pit stop. Adam [Stevens, crew chief] and I actually talked about what we were going to do if we were in this position, and what pit stall we were going to choose. Last year, I had that number one pit stall, and I couldn’t quite accelerate out of it, and I lost a couple positions in the drag race to the camera that last pit stop.
“I think if a couple things go differently at the end of that race, the outcome might have been different. The 6 [Brad Keselowski] was able to sneak by me, and it took several laps to get by him and I lost precious ground to Kyle. There is no doubt. He’s the favorite here. Kyle is. I think he’s won about every race and every stage in the history of the Next Gen car here, so he is going to be fast, but I promise you will be right there with him.”
