6 days agoJoe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell ended Sunday's Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway in the second position. Bell started Sunday's race from the pole but eventually relinquished the lead to Chase Elliott during the first stage after 25 laps. Bell ran inside the top 10 until he bumped into Brad Keselowski, shuffling himself and Keselowski off track and outside the top 10. As a result, Bell ended stage one in 12th place and failed to score stage points. In the second stage, Bell quietly ran inside the top 10 the entire time, executing on pit stops and staying out of further trouble. He ended the stage in the eighth position and earned two stage points. Bell and his team effectively used pit strategy to obtain track position during the final stage, and he returned to the top five. Bell continually battled Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott for a top-3 position during the stage, and he eventually passed them both. Unfortunately for Bell, he did not have enough speed to catch Denny Hamlin, who went on to win the race. Bell's runner-up finish for this week was his second-ever top-5 finish at Martinsville and his first since winning at the site in October 2022.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
1 week agoChristopher Bell will lead the field to the green at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon, as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver posted the fastest lap in qualifying on Saturday with a speed of 96.034 mph. This will be his first-ever top-five start at "The Paperclip." Bell track record at Martinsville isn't stellar, but he does have one win here (back in 2022) along with a couple of seventh-place finishes. Outside of those good finishes, though, Bell has ended up 15th or worse in seven of his 10 career Cup Series starts at this track. With that being said, starting from the pole is a pretty big advantage at a short track like Martinsville, but it doesn't guarantee a good finish by any means. In the Next Gen era, pole sitters at Martinsville have an average result of 10.8 with just two top-five finishes (both accomplished by Kyle Larson). As far as DFS goes, it's hard to stay away from the pole sitter, but with Christopher Bell's shaky track record and questionable long-run speed in practice, it's probably best to go underweight on the JGR driver this weekend in DraftKings.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: RACER
2 weeks agoChristopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing will start 16th for this week's Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This will be the lowest starting position of Bell's Cup career at Homestead since his first race at the site in 2020. In five starts at Homestead, Bell has five top-20 finishes, with four of them being 11th or better. With five races completed so far this season, Bell has three wins and four finishes with positive Place Differential. In practice, Bell ranked 21st in overall lap averages but displayed top-10 speeds in the five through 20 consecutive lap average categories. Considering his equipment, upside, and how Homestead is one of his better tracks, fantasy players should use Bell in all DFS formats as one of the better all-around picks of the week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
3 weeks agoChristopher Bell is on a roll to start the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. In addition to winning at Atlanta a few weeks ago, Bell ended up in victory lane at both COTA and Phoenix over the last two weeks, giving the Joe Gibbs Racing driver three wins in just four races this year. Can he add a fourth at Las Vegas this weekend? Bell's No. 20 Toyota was definitely the car to beat the last time we were here (last October), but he's going to have his work cut out for him if he's going to compete for the win on Sunday. After qualifying 13th for this weekend's Pennzoil 400, Bell's No. 20 team changed the throttle body, which will require NASCAR's most recent winner to drop to the rear of the field at the start on Sunday. Despite this setback, though, Bell should still contend in the race. He has three top-five results in his last four starts at this track.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Bob Pockrass / FOX Sports
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