Christopher Bell recorded his second straight top five in last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland. His runner-up finish to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe has helped him build more of a cushion over The Chase cut line with seven races remaining.
Bell sits 10th in the points standings with a 105-point advantage over the cutoff. Despite not being in the top five of the standings, the driver of the No. 20 believes his championship hopes are still alive as The Chase nears.
Bell on championship hopes: ‘We’re still in the mix’
In a recent interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Bell got honest about his 2026 season.
After three straight finishes of 26th or worse stretching from Michigan to San Diego, the Oklahoma native felt concerned about simply making The Chase in 2026.
Yet, after a fifth-place run at Sonoma and a second-place result at Chicagoland, Bell is feeling confident about his season, especially with some upcoming tracks.
“Now, I’m feeling a lot better about making it and just trying to improve our position as high as we can in the standings. We’ve got some great racetracks coming up where I’m going to be really competitive at and have the ability to score a lot of points,” Bell said.
However, after watching Denny Hamlin hunt down Tyler Reddick and take the points lead, it has given Bell a sense of hope.
“Just watching Denny be able to close the gap over Tyler Reddick throughout the last month or so, I think everybody is feeling a lot more in the mix,” Bell said.
Still, Bell believes he will need to go on a tear when The Chase begins in order to make up ground on the drivers in front of him. With the recent strong finishes, Bell does not think his championship hopes are over.
“It doesn’t appear that we’re gonna end up in the top 3 or top five, so we’re gonna have to go on a really big run in (The Chase). We’re still feeling like we’re in the mix, which is really good,” Bell said.
Bell continuing to play through pain as Chase nears
In what has been an up and down season for Bell, the former Craftsman Truck Series champion nearly had the season derailed entirely last month at Michigan.
Racing side-by-side with Chase Elliott for position, the two went careening into the outside retaining wall in turns three and four. The hit was devastating for Bell, especially, who suffered a fractured left wrist and bruised ankle in the collision.
Despite the injury, Bell has started in every Cup Series race since. That included the Coronado Street Course race in San Diego, but Bell exited the car early and allowed Brent Crews to take over. Bell still earned points for the race despite not finishing.
The injury seemingly unfazed Bell, especially in the last two races with back-to-back top-five finishes. After 19 races, Bell is still seeking his first win of the 2026 season. The 13-time Cup Series winner is the only JGR driver yet to win in 2026.
NASCAR: Christopher Bell Gets Honest About Championship Hopes