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Motorsport

Sport

Bell will have to go from last to first as he chases fourth straight Cup win

Christopher Bell Las Vegas Jimmie Johnson Cup Series (Organization) Kyle Larson NASCAR Cup Series Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Christopher Bell is seeking to become the first person since 2007 to win four consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races, and he recently spoke with the last driver to successfully accomplish the impressive feat – seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.

“It is still the coolest thing in the world to me that I have Jimmie Johnson in my phone,” said Bell during a media availability over the weekend. “He has talked to me. He has sent me a text message after every win so far. I’m still shocked every time I see his name pop up. I respect the heck out of him. It’s an honor to know that he thinks of me after the race to send a text message. That is so cool. We have connected, yes.”

Bell’s mission to join an exclusive club that features just eight drivers since the modern era of the sport began in 1972 will be extremely difficult, and it's getting harder by the day. Bell qualified 13th but will actually start from the rear of the 36-car field due to unapproved adjustments (throttle body change). How significant could that be in impacting his efforts on Sunday?

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Photo by: Chris Graythen - Getty Images)

“We have come to learn – at least from my group – qualifying and racing are kind of two separate things,” said Bell (before being sent to the back of the grid). “How you qualify doesn’t necessarily dictate how you are going to run in the race. The big thing about qualifying is that pit stall selection. We’ve been really fortunate to end up with good pit stalls that we don’t get locked in - yeah, basically I don’t get blocked in and have to lose track position every time I’m trying to get out.

”We’ve gotten away with our poor qualifying efforts, so far, but yeah, certainly, we want to focus on qualifying, but we’ve learned, where we qualify doesn’t mean nothing for how we are going to run during the race. Qualifying at these intermediates has been our strength. We expect to qualify and practice a lot better here than what we’ve done the last couple of weeks.”

Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will be in stall No. 38 with John-Hunter Nemechek in the stall right behind him and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the stall directly ahead of him.

A historic achievement

The 30-year-old driver is certainly thinking about the tremendous opportunity that stands before him, telling the assembled media at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that he’s “excited about it,” but admits “nothing that has happened the last three weeks means anything for this week.”

Speaking more on what it would mean, Bell said, “it is special. That is the cliché answer, but it is something I take a lot of pride in. It is crazy to think about. Just the time I’ve been in the Cup Series, it feels like a long time, but then you look at stuff like that, and I’m still pretty young in my career. I’m just trying to soak it all in and enjoy the moment. It’s a dream come true to be compared to or be in the same category with guys that I’m having a chance to tie their stats or going with their stats. I guess time will tell how it all turns out, but it’s definitely an honor – win or lose – to be in that conversation.”

All three of his wins so far this year have come on different track types and Vegas is another track unlike the three that preceded it. Bell is 0-10 at LVMS, but that includes two runner-up finishes, so the odds certainly aren't completely against him.

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Photo by: Jonathan Bachman - Getty Images)

Larson: "It doesn't bother me"

The last driver to come this close to the four-peat was Kyle Larson, who won three consecutive races on two separate occasions during the 2021 season. In one of those, a blown tire entering the final corner at Pocono is the only thing that denied him four. And as Larson points out, if you want to count the All-Star Race, he did win four races in succession that year.

“So, I think having lived through it on my own, I can respect it a lot more and it doesn't bother me, you know, when I see somebody else having success like that,” said Larson. “So, if he wins this weekend, maybe it's like – all right, this is getting annoying. But I think for me, as a competitor and a fan, I think it's really neat because this sport is so tough, especially in the Next Gen era. So, I respect it more than anything currently.

“But if it keeps going on too long, it'll get annoying.”

Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske have combined to win the last six Cup races at Las Vegas and the last JGR driver to win there was Denny Hamlin during the 2021 season. However, Bell did lead the most laps of any driver here last fall before losing in a fuel-mileage race.

"I’m optimistic on how we are going to perform, because this has been a strong track for us in the past, but I’m just trying very hard to not get ahead of myself and understand it is a new week," noted Bell. "It’s a different race, and everyone is going to be bringing their best stuff to try to beat me. I’m optimistic about how we are going to perform, but I know it is a tall task.”