The NASCAR playoffs are intensifying with just one race to go before the Championship 4 battle it out for all the glory.
Christopher Bell currently leads the way atop the drivers’ standings, 22 points ahead of his nearest rival William Byron.
They will join Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick in the season finale as things stand, but the picture could completely change after the upcoming Xfinity 500 in Martinsville.
The Straight Talk Wireless 400 saw Joey Logano drop three places to seventh, and out of the running for the championship – showing just how fast things can deteriorate.
Christopher Bell will ‘be aggressive’ with Kyle Larson
One man has remained the most consistent of all throughout the season and leads the way in the championship off the back of those performances.
Christopher Bell has amassed more top-five and top-10 finishes than any other driver and has taken the second-most wins, stage wins and led the second-most laps.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver drove a measured race to fourth at Miami this past weekend, edging closer to guaranteeing his spot in the Championship 4.
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Full Oversteer can exclusively reveal after speaking to the NASCAR Cup Series championship leader that he has vowed to give no quarter to one of his main rivals – Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson.
“I beat him last time at Phoenix, so we’ll see. If we get there [to the Championship 4], it’s an equal opportunity. I’m sure he [Larson] will yeah [be aggressive], but I’ll be aggressive with him too.”
Why Bell may not get to fight with Larson after all…
While Bell is in a fairly comfortable position atop the standings, Larson is not – suffering from inconsistencies and incidents.
The American driver shouldn’t be anywhere near the cut-off line, but somehow he only has an 11-point margin to play with at the Xfinity 500.
Another bad race and he will be waving goodbye to his hopes of a second Cup Series Championship, and fans will be left to wonder what a battle between him and Bell would have looked like.
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It’s important to remember that he is in a better position than five of his rivals behind him, who would all prefer to be in his position with the extra points on the board.
Time will tell if Larson can make the cut, but it would be emphatic scenes if a man who has won twice the amount of races of anyone else this year was to somehow fail to find a way when it mattered most.