Christopher Bell told reporters a few weeks ago that he and Kyle Larson aren't exactly buddies off the track, despite all the time they've spent racing against each other across multiple disciplines. But during the Chase for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series title, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been the soon-to-be three-time champion's best friend.
Larson heads into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a 67-point advantage over Bell, after salvaging a top 10 finish out of a disastrous first stage at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. It's good enough that he can clinch the championship before the race even ends.
And Bell has to be kicking himself that the deficit isn't an awful lot smaller.
Christopher Bell has thrown away one too many chances to capture his first Cup Series championship
All of the focus is on how Denny Hamlin and his No. 11 team, who dominated the regular season, have fallen apart down the stretch. But it's Bell whose missed opportunities really reflect poorly on a driver who just always seems to leave you wanting more from him.
Hamlin is 45. He was supposed to be done competing for titles years ago. Anything he accomplishes at this stage of his career is a bonus on what's already a no-questions-asked Hall of Fame resume.
Bell, on the other hand, is 31, right in the thick of the prime of his career. He's driving for the fastest team in the Cup Series and has a championship-winning crew chief. He's had everything fall into place for him, and yet he just can't seem to get out of his own way.
In the last two weeks, it's been especially brutal for the Oklahoma native. After entering Talladega only five points back of the lead, he wrecked by himself entering pit road and finished 35th. After Larson's thrilling last-lap charge to the win, he was 74 markers in arrears.
But in this championship format, mulligans are aplenty. And after Larson and Hamlin both messed up the strategy in the opening stage at Martinsville, Bell had a chance to pounce. He even caught another break during the second stage when the caution came out while he was on pit road, effectively handing him the race lead once everybody else stopped under yellow.
The only problem: he sped in the pits. So instead of leading and having a chance to control the rest of the race, he restarted toward the back and shortly afterward got spun by Joey Logano.
It's the story of the season for Bell, who has eight runner-up finishes to only one win for a reason. He's a very, very good driver at the Cup level, but he can't ever seem to separate himself the way the great ones do.
And barring something catastrophic next Sunday, that's going to be why Larson will hoist his third championship trophy while Bell has still yet to do so.
Add us as a preferred source on Google