6 days agoChristopher Bell finished third at Darlington on Sunday, but that was more because he was lucky than good. Despite the fact that Denny Hamlin won the race and Bell ended up with a third-place finish, all the Joe Gibbs Racing cars seemed to be very slow on long runs as Bell started 17th but shockingly fell as low as 30th and nearly got lapped during Stage 1. However, his crew chief Adam Stevens' decision to long-pit in Stage 2 reaped dividends during the Brad Keselowski debris caution, as he remained on the lead lap while many of the faster cars were trapped behind him. In a race with minimal passing, Bell was then able to retain and even improve his position. Despite being nowhere to be seen in Stage 1, he finished sixth in Stage 2 and ran in most of the top 10 in Stage 3, moving up to third in points but losing 17 points to William Byron.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
7 days agoChristopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing will start 17th for Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. This is Bell's lowest Darlington Cup start since his first race at the site with JGR back in 2021. In 11 starts at Darlington, Bell has eight top-20 finishes, with three inside the top 10. With seven races completed so far this season, Bell has three wins, four top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 11.0. In practice, Bell ranked 35th in overall lap averages and ranked as high as 16th in 20 consecutive lap averages. Bell has upside and great equipment from his team with solid track history, making him a decent DFS option who works best as a top-priced pivot option.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
2 weeks 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
2 weeks 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
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