NASCAR insider calls out Christopher Bell narrative amid three-race win streak

Christopher Bell has won three straight races in the first four weeks of the season and appears to be on a hot streak. But has he really been that dominant?

At Atlanta, Christopher Bell was out in front when the caution came out on the last lap. He was very close to losing the race to Carson Hocevar or Kyle Larson. When he won at COTA, it was late in the race when he made his moves to the front and beat out Kyle Busch and William Byron for the race.

Yesterday at Phoenix was a dominant performance that ended with an aggressive but respectful final restart with Denny Hamlin in a two-lap dash to the finish. Jeff Gluck of The Athletic doesn’t think it matters all that much.

“By the way, Christopher Bell is not even the points leader,” Gluck said to his Teardown cohost Jordan Bianchi. “So, if you’re talking about – William Byron is the points leader by 13. Despite, the guy that’s won three races is not the points leader right now, three out of the four races.”

The longtime motorsports journalist doesn’t believe fans or the media should get caught up in the Bell narrative. He even argues that Bell could easily be winless, so why do these wins matter?

“I think we also just need to be careful not to get too caught up in the narrative,” Gluck continued. “A year ago, after the Vegas race, I was all telling you that, I’m not admitting I’m wrong, I’m just saying I was all telling you, ‘Oh, this showed who has strength,’ and all that stuff, right? This narrative in particular about Chris Bell, um, look, he could have easily not won Atlanta, right? Will we acknowledge that? He could have easily not won that race. He could have easily not won COTA. Because we don’t know if the caution doesn’t come out, maybe Kyle Busch wins that race.

“And by the way. he had a great drive at the end of this race, the last two laps were awesome which we need to talk about in a moment here. But he was potentially inches away if that goes a different way, I mean maybe Denny Hamlin wins this race. Maybe if a few things go differently, Christopher Bell is winless. So, I’m just saying, let’s pump the brakes on everything Christopher Bell. It’s a long season, I think it’s a great year, great start. He’s coming into his own, he’s a phenomenal talent, obviously. And we’re finally seeing him put it all together, but that doesn’t mean anything in this sport. So, that’s all I’m saying.”

Christopher Bell three-peat IS a big deal

There is more to a driver winning a race than just the result. You can make the argument that Christopher Bell could easily be winless. But that isn’t the reality of what happened.

Bell was upfront at the Daytona 500 before getting caught up in a wreck. While he only led the final lap at Atlanta, he was at the right place when he needed to be and won the race. He effectively took a playoff spot (for now), and first career win, from Carson Hocevar. That’s a big deal.

At COTA, Bell once again ran a great race to be in position to take the lead late. Then he executed. He did not luck into that win. Kyle Busch hasn’t won in 60 races, you think he thinks it’s not a big deal? Denny Hamlin hasn’t won since last April, and has no guarantee to win a race this year with new crew chief Chris Gayle.

Christopher Bell has made the Championship 4 in two of the last three seasons, he is second in points, and second in laps led, has an average finishing position of 6.93 in the last 16 races going back to Daytona-2 last season, and has put the Cup Series on notice.

The next three races, Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami, and Martinsville are all potential wins for Bell as well. He could be up to five wins before we even get to Talladega. And THAT is a big deal.