Denny Hamlin explains how Christopher Bell won three-straight races after Phoenix: 'Things just worked out'

Denny Hamlin is impressed with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell winning three races in a row. The talent is unquestionable, but the elder statesman of the NASCAR Cup Series recognizes the No. 20 team had some luck along the way, as well.

While Hamlin relented that Bell was the best car at Phoenix Raceway this past weekend, he believes Atlanta and COTA fell into the 30-year old’s lap. Still, Hamlin credited Bell for putting himself in position to succeed, but it’s certainly a rarity in NASCAR to have everything work out so perfect in the manner it did. 

“Christopher Bell got his third win in a row. Three of four. That’s a pretty good start to the season,” Hamlin stated regarding Bell, via Actions Detrimental. “I feel like there’s times where you can do nothing right. You feel like you’ve dominated week after week after week, and you just don’t get a win. I feel like this is the opposite of that. Like, [Phoenix] was a domination. But Atlanta wasn’t. COTA wasn’t. Things just worked out. Cautions fell at the right time. Even Christopher Bell said the first two were very unexpected. He wasn’t even expecting to win, and he just did. 

“Those wins don’t come that often. It’s more the other way around, where you usually get crushed in this business, thinking you have a win and it doesn’t happen. But I don’t know. Things just — things are rolling good right now. He’s not crapping out. He’s hitting all the numbers and can do no wrong. Match good luck with good skill, fast cars, good execution — you’re probably going to have a lot of wins. That’s what he’s doing right now.”

Alas, Hamlin would’ve loved if Bell decided to cap his winning streak at two races, as the No. 11 came home as the runner-up in Arizona. It was a heck of a finish, but Bell got the better of Hamlin coming to the start-finish-line, and the veteran was left wondering what he could’ve done different on the final restart to change the narrative. 

At least JGR was able to secure the win regardless. It would’ve been disastrous if Hamlin and Bell took each other out of the running for first place. Especially on a day that saw Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs deal with a myriad of difficulties.

Moving forward, Christopher Bell will be looking for his fourth consecutive win this coming weekend, as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It would set a career high mark for the No. 20 wheelman in a single season. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin is still trying to get on the board, and return to Victory Lane for the first time since April 2024.