After Latest Close Call, Bell Primed for First Win of 2024 Playoffs
Christopher Bell queued up his radio and shouted in frustration as he came up short of chasing down Joey Logano, who was on an alternate strategy than the one his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team employed in last Sunday's South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
RELATED: Joey Logano Advances to Championship 4 with Strategy Call Win at Las Vegas
How to Watch: The NASCAR Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead
The reason for Bell's frustration, who is usually one of the calmest and coolest individuals in the NASCAR Cup Series garage, was easy to understand. Bell started from the pole, finished second in Stage 1, won Stage 2, and utterly dominated the event by leading 155 of the 267 laps around the 1.5-mile speedway in Sin City. However, when the chips were on the table, a strategy call ultimately took the trophy out of the firm grasp of the 29-year-old racer.
"I don't think I've come to terms [with losing] yet," an emotional Bell said in his post-race interview with NBC. "I don't know. Just a bummer. I think everyone on this team did everything perfect[ly] today. This thing was obviously on rails. [The] Pit crew did an amazing job, [Crew Chief] Adam [Stevens] called a great race. Did everything we needed to to put this Rheem Camry into victory lane, and unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be today."
This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs roll along to Homestead-Miami Speedway for Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 400, and while he is coming off of a disappointing missed opportunity, Bell is surging. And while he has yet to pick up a win in the Playoffs, it feels like a win is certainly near as the driver is now riding a back-to-back runner-up finishing streak as he also finished second to Kyle Larson at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
In all, Bell has strung along the most consistent run through the opening seven races of the Playoffs than any other NASCAR Cup Series competitor, whether they're a Playoff contender or not. Over that seven-race span, Bell has four top-five finishes, including Sunday's heartbreaking runner-up finish to Logano, six top-10s, and his average finish is an impeccable 5.7.
The driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE has completed all of the 1,696 possible laps in the seven Playoff races, and his worst finish came at Watkins Glen, and even that finish wasn't horrendous as Bell snagged a 14th-place finish at the winding 2.45-mile road course in New York.
The sterling performance for Bell and the No. 20 team in the Playoffs has led to the driver being 42 points above the Playoff cutline, the most of anyone on the Playoff grid, heading into this weekend's race. While his point advantage over the cutline suggests Bell doesn't need a win, he certainly wants one.
While lady luck didn't deal Bell's hand at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a win is coming, and it could very easily come this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
While many will have Kyle Larson or Tyler Reddick pegged as the favorites for the race win coming into the weekend, as they are among the most efficient at riding the outside wall at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it's worth noting that the two high-lane experts have combined for just one win at the track through their careers.
A win on Sunday would lock Bell into the Championship 4 for the third consecutive season. Last season, Bell secured his advancement to the Championship race in Phoenix with a win at the 1.5-mile speedway in South Florida as he passed William Byron for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs event at Homestead-Miami Speedway with 16 laps to go, and never looked back.
In four career starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Bell has an average finish of 10.0, and aside from a 20th-place result in 2021, Bell has finished 11th-or-better in each of his trips to Homestead, including an eighth-place run in his rookie season in 2020 while driving for the Leavine Family Racing team. Bell, who was spitting angry after crossing the line last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for another runner-up finish will be one of the ones to keep an eye out for this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway for sure.
The NASCAR Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway is set for Sunday, October 27. The race will be televised by NBC beginning at 2:30 PM ET (view full weekend viewing guide here). The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the radio broadcast of the event.
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.