LOUDON, N.H. — Over the last six years, not many drivers have a more impressive résumé at a single track than Christopher Bell at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
In four NASCAR Cup Series starts at “The Magic Mile,” Bell has a win and a runner-up. His win came two years, kicking off a dramatic second half of the season which saw the Norman, Oklahoma native make an improbable run to the Championship 4.
His Xfinity Series history is completely flawless. Bell has won all three of his starts, coming in 2018, 2019 and 2021. In those three races, the 29-year-old led 430 of 600 possible laps.
Three years later, Bell’s back in the car for Joe Gibbs Racing to pursue a weekend sweep and keep his perfect Xfinity record alive.
“It is a very special stat, and a special opportunity I have in front of me to make it four-for-four,” Bell said in a press conference Friday. “In NASCAR racing, in general, it is extremely hard because of how many people that have influence on the result. If one guy makes a mistake on your team, then you are not going to win the race and three times, it has happened where all of us pulled the rope in the same direction, and nobody made a mistake. I understand doing it for a fourth time is a tall ask, but I’m excited as a challenge.
“I’m confident that we are going to be in contention, and have a shot at it, but everything has to go right in order to win.
“I don’t think about it outside of one week a year – but it is certainly something that I’m proud of.”
The Cup side, though, is what matters most. With nine races remaining in the regular season, Bell sits eighth in points with two victories – Phoenix Raceway in March and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway last month. He has 10 top 10s and an average finish of 14.9.
Because Bell has the victories, he’s locked into the playoffs without a problem. With Ryan Blaney winning last weekend at Iowa Speedway, 10 drivers have clinched playoff spots – leaving just six available.
“This is definitely the time of year where people start thinking about the playoff positions,” Bell said. “If you look outside the cutline, it is very, very intense. There is a lot of talented cars and teams that are on the outside looking in, and it is going to be a battle.
“The more guys that win outside the cutline, is going to make it even tighter and tighter.”
But as Bell is running double duty, he doesn’t expect what he learns Saturday to help him in Sunday’s Cup race. More than anything, he’s doing it for fun.
“I think the advantage from Saturday to Sunday is pretty much gone,” he said. “The cars are completely different, the shift patterns are completely different and the way that they react in corner – it is almost completely irrelevant from Saturday to Sunday. It is just about enjoyment and track time, and it is very hard to take anything from Saturday to Sunday.”