Christopher Bell has established himself as a title contender in the NASCAR Cup Series that can regularly compete at the front of the field.
The 29-year-old began his NASCAR Cup Series career in 2020 with Leavine Family Racing in the No. 95 car. Bell finished the year in 20th before moving on to the No. 20 car at Joe Gibbs Racing.
It took Bell just his second race with the team to secure his first win and spot in the NASCAR Playoffs with victory at Daytona Speedway, before going on to finish the year 12th. Since then, the Oklahoma-born driver has been a regular in the playoffs.
In 2022, Bell enjoyed his best season to date, as he made his first appearance in the Championship Four after winning at New Hampshire in the regular season and at the Roval and Martinsville in the playoffs. The JGR driver’s 10th place finish at Phoenix gave him third in the standings and cemented himself as a real title contender.
However, not everyone saw it the same way, as Bell would soon find out when Netflix came to NASCAR in 2023 with their documentary.
Christopher Bell ‘happy’ he ‘crashed Netflix’s party’ after the documentary did not follow him in the playoffs in 2023
Last year, Netflix released their docuseries ‘NASCAR: Full Speed’, looking to emulate the success they have had with F1 with ‘Drive to Survive’, which has brought millions of new fans to the sport.
The premise sees the cameras shadowing the eight playoff drivers the producers expected to make it to the end and win the championship in the 2023 Cup Series. Despite making the Championship Race the year prior, Bell was not initially selected to be followed across the playoffs.
Bell not only make it to the Round of Eight, but he again made the Championship Four, this time with a race to spare as he won at Homestead-Miami. As a result, the JGR driver appeared on camera almost out of nowhere as Netflix realised they had downplayed his ability at the start of the playoffs.
Speaking with Motorsport.com, Bell admitted that he was ‘happy’ to prove Netflix wrong and ‘crash their party’ when he had not been chosen for the cameras and seen as a driver set for elimination.
“I’m definitely quiet,” he said. “I’m quiet and reserved, and people will kind of take that as a weakness. I’m not one of the guys that’s going to be out there hooting and hollering, but I know that I’m every bit as capable as anyone else out there.
“It was interesting to me how the Netflix deal played out last year. They have to pick guys to follow throughout the year, and coming off of 2022, I was a championship contender. We made the final four, then they specifically chose not to follow me because they didn’t expect me to perform well. It made me happy that I proved them wrong and crashed their party.”
Christopher Bell is on the verge of qualifying for the final four in 2024
Heading into the final race of the Round of Eight at Martinsville in 2024, there are only two spots up for grabs for the Championship Race at Phoenix.
Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick have automatically qualified thanks to their respective wins at Las Vegas and Homestead-Miami. Subsequently, second place William Byron now sits above the cut-off point and is seven points ahead of Kyle Larson.
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Bell currently leads the standings by 22 points over Byron and has a 29-point cushion over the elimination zone. The 29-year-old comes into Martinsville on great form, having finished in the top 10 in all but one race in the playoffs thus, finishing in the top five in the last three races.
Martinsville is also a strong track for Bell, having won there in 2022 to secure his place in the Championship Four. The JGR driver is in a good position to make it three years in a row where he has made the final four, but with a lot at stake for the rest of the playoff drivers, he will have to keep himself out of trouble to ensure that happens.