1 week agoChristopher Bell was the driver to beat at Phoenix Raceway during the Shriners Children's 500. Beginning the race from the 11th position, Bell quickly showed that he had one of the top cars in the field as he made it all the way up to fourth at the end of stage one, scoring stage points. In the second stage, Bell took the lead on lap 94, and despite some challenges from William Byron and Joey Logano, he went on to win the second stage and earn more stage points. Bell would get challenged for the lead by several drivers during the final stage, but always ran towards the front, even through pit stops. The No. 20 Toyota driver was challenged by his teammate, Denny Hamlin, on the race's final restart. Hamlin nearly beat Bell as he kept the No. 20 side-by-side on the final corner, but the two made contact, and Bell barely edged Hamlin for the win in one of the closest finishes in Phoenix history. Bell won at Phoenix for the second time in his Cup career and won his third consecutive race of the 2025 season.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
1 week agoFresh off of back-to-back wins at Atlanta and COTA, Christopher Bell now shifts his focus to Phoenix Raceway, a track where he absolutely dominated at last season. Will the Joe Gibbs Racing driver be able to grab his third Cup Series win in a row on Sunday? It certainly wouldn't surprise anyone. Bell won the spring race here at Phoenix last year by over five seconds, and then went on to lead 143 laps in the fall race before falling back and finishing fifth, allowing the Championship contenders to duke it out for the title. There is no reason to believe that he won't be able to contend for the win once again this weekend in the Shriners Children's 500. The No. 20 Toyota didn't blow the doors off of anyone in practice on Saturday, but CBell was fast enough to let everyone else know that he's still the guy to beat. He qualified 11th for this weekend's race, which gives him both dominator and Place Differential upside in DraftKings this weekend. Despite being the highest-priced driver on the slate ($11,000), Bell is a prime DFS option this weekend.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
2 weeks agoThe new track layout at Circuit of the Americas did not disappoint. After exciting action all day during the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, a late caution set up an even more exciting finish, as Kyle Busch--who led a race-high 42 laps--led the field to the green on a restart with 12 laps to go. Eight laps after the restart, Christopher Bell finally got around Busch for the lead, with a hard-charging William Byron following. The final four laps were on-the-edge-of-your-seat excitement, as Tyler Reddick joined the mix among the leaders. After several laps of that trio battling, though, Christopher Bell emerged victorious, grabbing his first-ever win at Circuit of the Americas and his second already in this young 2025 Cup Series season. This victory was Bell's 11th of his career. After the race, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver noted, "Just super proud for everyone on this DeWalt No. 20 team. We didn't count (on) last week [his win at Atlanta]. Last week was a speedway. We didn't have that one circled. We definitely had this one circled. I'm ready to keep adding to it."
--Jordan McAbeeSource: NASCAR.com
2 weeks agoChristopher Bell, last week's Atlanta winner, will start 19th for this week's Circuit of the Americas race, the Echopark Texas Grand Prix. It will be the lowest starting position of his Cup career to date at the Texas road course. In four Cup races at COTA, Bell has two top-3 finishes, both coming from 2022 and 2024 events at the site. The No. 20 Toyota driver also led in his last two COTA appearances and finished in the top 15 in the last nine road course events outside of Chicago. Bell showcased top-10 speeds in the 10 consecutive and overall lap average categories in final practice while carrying a higher upside than all top-priced drivers. Bell will have a fantastic performance on Sunday for DFS lineups due to his equipment, practice speeds, favorable COTA history, and overall upside, making him a great option for all formats.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
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