When Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell emerged as the outright favorite to win the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship following the race at Talladega Superspeedway two Sundays ago, it was a bit of a surprise since teammate Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe were the two drivers actually locked into the Championship 4.
Bell, one of six drivers battling for the two remaining Championship 4 spots, was 37 points above the cut line, best among those not yet locked in, but with Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson 36 points ahead, it effectively meant that Bell was only one point ahead of the cutoff in the event that a winner emerged from below the cut line on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
And given the fact that all four drivers who entered Sunday's race at Martinsville below the cut line owned previous Martinsville victories, it made even less sense, even with Bell being a former Martinsville winner himself.
Christopher Bell eliminated at Martinsville
The battle for the win ended up being between Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron and Team Penske's Ryan Blaney, two of the drivers effectively in must-win situations, and Bell was behind Larson both in the running order and on projected points all race long.
Larson collected 17 stage points and added 32 more points with a fifth place finish, while Bell could only score 11 stage points and was only able to add 30 more with a seventh place finish. With Byron winning to join Hamlin and Briscoe in the Championship 4, it was Larson who held Bell off for the fourth and final spot to advance on points.
Had Bell advanced, the Championship 4 would have featured four drivers who have never previously won a championship for the first time since the modern playoff format was introduced in 2014. Instead, Larson is set to enter the season finale at Phoenix Raceway trying to become a two-time champion, while the other three drivers are all aiming for their first.
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race is set to be shown live on NBC from Phoenix Raceway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, November 2. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!