May 11, 2025
Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing acquired a starting position of third for this week's AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway. This breaks a streak of three consecutive poles at Kansas for Bell. In 10 previous races at KS, Bell has seven top-10 finishes, which include six of the last seven Cup events at the site. Through 11 races so far this season, the No. 20 Toyota driver has three wins, seven top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 12.0. In practice for Sunday's race, Bell ranked 17th in overall lap averages, while displaying top-10 speeds in all categories except single lap and 15 consecutive lap averages. Based on his equipment, history, and practice speeds, Bell will likely maintain a top-10 finish and should have another solid performance this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
May 4, 2025
Christopher Bell has had a fairly puzzling season to date, as he has won the most races with three (matching his career-best seasonal total) and also became the only driver to win three in a row in a year he's arguably lost some speed. While his average finish of 12.3 is the best of his career to date, his average start of 14.7 is his worst since his rookie season, and he has been consistently qualifying outside the top 10 after showing qualifying dominance in earlier years. Texas was no exception, as he had another mediocre qualifying run of 16th. Intermediates have always been the closest thing Bell has had to an Achilles heel. It looked like he was starting to overcome that last year, but this year he finished 12th and 29th at Las Vegas and Homestead, respectively, with average running positions of 18th and 27th and a solo spin at Homestead. Although he has the speed to dominate anywhere in theory, his high price and recent intermediate performance make him a risky pick.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
April 28, 2025
After winning the previous drafting track race at Atlanta, Christopher Bell was unable to repeat the feat at Talladega after a hard crash on lap 52. Bell had driven from his 11th starting position to second behind Chase Briscoe for most of the first stage when the Toyotas worked together to drive from the field. The caution came out for a pit road crash after Bell had pitted but before many of the leaders did, allowing Bell to reinherit the second position after the drivers who stayed out pitted. Restarting alongside Chris Buescher, Bell received a bad bump draft from his teammate Denny Hamlin, which sent him into Buescher and then head on into the inside retaining wall. While this wreck would have likely caused a significant injury in the '90s, he was unhurt but dropped to 82 points behind the points leader William Byron for the regular season championship.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
April 27, 2025
Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing will start 11th for Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. It will be the eighth time in his Cup career that he will start inside the top 15 at Talladega. In 10 previous starts at the Alabama track, Bell has three top-10 finishes, including his last appearance during the October 2024 Cup event, where he went on to place sixth. So far, after nine races this season, Bell has three wins, including Atlanta, another drafting-based track like Talladega, six top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 9.8. Bell's upside is lower compared to most drivers this week due to his starting position, but he is a solid performer at drafting tracks overall in his Cup career. As a result, Bell is worth consideration for tournament lineups only, especially due to his equipment, which is capable of placing in the top 10.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com