Christopher Bell returns to New Hampshire Motor Speedway as the defending race winner in the NASCAR Cup Series and with a much different agenda than a year ago.
Bell’s victory last year clinched him a spot in the postseason while also ending the obsessive bubble-watching done by Bell and his No. 20 team. Ironically, Bell still obsessively points watches, but it’s for a much different reason with a victory on the Bristol dirt on his stat sheet.
“We’re right in the thick of the regular season championship,” said Bell, who is fourth in points and 37 points out of the lead. “We’re focused on those group of guys — how they’re doing, how they’re running, if they’re scoring points; hopefully we’re scoring points. Stuff like that.”
William Byron is the championship points leader by 21 over Bell’s teammate Martin Truex Jr. Bell is one point behind third-place Kyle Busch.
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The winner of the regular season championship will go into the postseason with 15 added playoff points. Those would be a much-appreciated boost for Bell, who is tied with Joey Logano for the fewest playoff points of any driver inside the top 10 in the championship standings with a win (seven).
“I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but definitely, I’m focused on it a lot,” Bell said of routinely checking the standings and his competition. “We’re in a unique spot because a lot of cars are still in the hunt. So, I’m racing for points against a number of cars. Last weekend the 24 of William [Byron] had a great weekend, but the rest of the guys were all in the same boat.
“I didn’t lose any ground to anybody except for William, and I think Kyle Busch is now (ahead) of me where he was a little bit behind me. But all it takes is one bad race and that safety net that William has is gone.”
Byron leads the series with four wins and 22 playoff points. And Bell is correct about how many drivers are still in the hunt for the regular season championship with seven races to go, as eight drivers chasing Byron are less than 100 points behind.
A driver can score a maximum of 60 points in a race through victory and winning both stages. Ross Chastain, who is fifth in the standings, is 53 points behind Byron and Denny Hamlin, who is sixth, is 67 points behind.
A repeat triumph in New Hampshire would not only help Bell’s cause but be another step in the right direction for the team as the postseason approaches. Bell once enjoyed time at the top of the championship standings, but despite the strong start, two months ago, Bell was blunt in his assessment that the team isn’t showing its true potential. Now, in the thick of the summer stretch, Bell is still looking for that to come to fruition.
“I don’t think that it’s all come together yet, no,” Bell said. “We’ve definitely had some more positive moments, but we’re still struggling to put all the pieces together. Hopefully that means it’ll come later on in the season. But I don’t think we’ve got it put together yet.”