Christopher Bell is just in his third year in the NASCAR Cup Series and has qualified for the championship race which will take place at the Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. And while he may not be the favorite to win, the 27-year-old is ready to show the world he’s here to stay. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Bell talked about how he’s feeling ahead of the Championship 4 battle.ย
“I guess elated, super excited and happy and ready to make it happen,” Bell exclusively told PopCulture. “I appreciate you congratulating me on the win because that’s one thing that is so easy to get lost in the walk-off moments. Whenever I won at the Charlotte road course, it didn’t even feel like a race win, because we were so focused on the next round in the playoffs. Whenever you win a race in the regular season, it’s celebrated and it’s a big deal and you feel like you just won a NASCAR race.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Bell continued: “But winning the races, fortunately, or unfortunately, the way that we’ve done it, it doesn’t feel like a race win. It just kind of feels like, ‘Okay, we did what we needed to do to advance and it’s on to the next one.’ So whenever the season’s over and we’re looking back at it, it’ll be really cool to be like, “Wow, we did win two races in the NASCAR playoffs that led us into the next round.’ Definitely a big moment in my career, and I think for my team, too.”
Bell reached the playoffs last year but was eliminated from the Round of 8. This year, Bell clinched a playoff spot at the Ambetter 301 in New Hampshire in July. He had top-five finishes in the first three playoff races and then won races in Charlotte and Martinsville to advance in the playoffs. The win in Martinsville was big for Bell because it was needed for him to compete in the Championship 4.ย
But what did Bell learn from last year’s playoffs experience that helped him this season? “The biggest thing that I learned last year is just executing,” Bell stated. “If you’re fast and you have great cars like I’ve had, it doesn’t matter if you can’t do the details right, and you have to make sure that you’re there at the end of the races. You have to score stage points and that’s how you advance in the rounds. I say that and I did none of that in the round of 12 or the round of eight, and fortunately, we were able to win to survive. It’s just all about executing and making the most out of what you have.”
Bell will be competing against Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Ross Chastain,ย who made a video-game-like move to qualify. Bell believes something crazy could happen on Sunday since so much is on the line. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I think that if it’s a long green flag run and it’s spread out, then probably if there’s nobody around you, then I don’t foresee anyone pulling that move,” he said. “But if it comes down to a really close finish and there’s not a rule implemented, then I would fully be prepared to see it happen again.”
