For the second year in a row, Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell entered the round of 8/Championship 4 cutoff race at Martinsville Speedway in the best position among all drivers not yet locked into the Championship 4.
In 2024, he was the outright points leader, because the two earlier winners in the round of 8, Team Penske's Joey Logano and 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick, were locked into the Championship 4 from fourth and seventh in points, respectively. Bell was 29 points above the Championship 4 cut line.
It wasn't enough. Team Penske's Ryan Blaney won from below the cut line, leaving Bell in a points battle with Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron. A late Hail Melon-like move to advance to the Championship 4 over Byron was ruled illegal, and despite entering the race 22 points ahead of Byron, he failed to advance.
Bell, who was the championship favorite at this point in 2024, experienced almost the exact same fate in 2025 – minus the illegal wall ride.
Deja vu for Christopher Bell at Martinsville
Despite the fact that he was not yet locked into the winner-take-all round like teammates Denny Hamlin, who won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Chase Briscoe, who won at Talladega Superspeedway, Bell was listed as the championship favorite entering Sunday's race at Martinsville, where he won in 2022 to clinch his first career Championship 4 berth.
It did make some sense, since among drivers not yet locked into the Championship 4, he was once again in the best position on points, sitting 37 points above the cut line.
Yet the battle for the win came down to Byron and Blaney, two drivers below the cut line entering the day who effectively needed to win to advance, and that left Bell in a points battle with Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson. Despite entering the race one point ahead of Larson, Bell was never ahead of Larson on points all race long.
Larson collected 49 points with a fifth place finish, including 17 from stages, and Bell collected 41 with a seventh place finish, including 11 from stages, so Bell was eliminated by seven points, bringing an early end to a championship bid that once seemed certain for the second consecutive season.
Given the fact that Bell has won two of the three most recent races at Phoenix Raceway, the host of this coming Sunday afternoon's Championship 4, his latest elimination is a particularly hard pill to swallow, especially since Team Penske, winners of three straight championships, no longer have any drivers in the fight with Blaney and Logano also eliminated at Martinsville.
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