Ty Gibbs is a winner for the second time in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, as well as the second time in his career. Following a gutsy two-tire call on the final pit stop, he led the final 20 laps and held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell for the victory in the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway.
For Bell, it's his seventh runner-up finish of the season and fourth in the five most recent races. One has to think that sooner or later, he's eventually going to break through. He's too talented not to and he's driving one of the fastest cars in the field.
But at this point, all those number twos in the result column are beginning to look less like "good points days" and more like missed opportunities.
Christopher Bell's struggles to seal the deal are starting to raise some eyebrows
Naturally, everybody is going to blame the Next Gen car for why Bell couldn't pass Gibbs on Sunday. Yet he had no problems passing the other 20 cars he started behind, or taking the lead from Ryan Blaney, who was also on two new tires, on the previous run.
And this wasn't just a one-time occurrence for Bell. We'll give him a break for not being able to get by Corey Heim at Indianapolis Motor Speedway two weeks ago because that truly was a race in which passing after restarts was next to impossible. But what about the Coca-Cola 600? What about at Chicagoland Speedway? What about at Nashville Superspeedway, when he led on the final restart but got outmuscled by Denny Hamlin?
Multiple times this year, Bell has been in position to make passes for the win that other top-tier drivers would have likely made, and he hasn't gotten it done. And the excuses are running out.
When you're driving cars as fast as Joe Gibbs Racing has in 2026, winning must be the expectation, no matter how consistent you are. Bell has long teetered on the edge of bona-fide elite status in the Cup Series, yet throughout his career, it's always felt like he could and should be doing a bit more. This season has encapsulated that more than ever.
Maybe this will all look silly in a few months, and Bell will go on some 2011 Tony Stewart-type of run when the Chase for the Cup starts. But as it stands now, he's in a precarious position. He can do everything there is to do behind the wheel, except the most important thing.
The ability to make those winning moves when the control is entirely in the driver's hands is what truly separates the greats from the merely "very good". Thus far, Bell's 2026 season has been the epitome of just very good.
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