Christopher Bell stands to match a record set by Jimmie Johnson in 2007 if he wins the upcoming Cup Series race in Las Vegas. He would become the first driver since the seven-time Cup Series champion to win four consecutive races. The last time a driver stood to gain such heavy clout was in 2018 by Kevin Harvick.
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Harvick had won three of the season’s first four races that year. The fourth race was in the Auto Club Speedway, and he looked set strong for another dominant performance. All was well until Lap 38, when he made contact with Kyle Larson and went sliding down the race track. Understandably, harsh words were exchanged on the radios of either driver.
Harvick couldn’t understand why Larson would come up the track when he was moving down to side-draft with him. However, after watching replays of the incident after the race. He said, “I don’t know that it’s his fault. I think that’s my fault for coming down the race track right there and trying to side-draft.”
The last time a Cup driver was in Christopher Bell’s position was 2018, when Kevin Harvick won three in a row and was looking for four-straight wins in the first five races.
That quest came to an early end in Fontana when he and Kyle Larson got together on the backstretch. pic.twitter.com/bGHFpvGwSy
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) March 11, 2025
He came home in 35th place with a damaged car, while Larson finished second next to Martin Truex Jr. Harvick added, “That was just a dumb mistake on my part… The race car was there. It was just a mistake.” And so, he lost the chance to win four consecutive races. After seven years, the ball has now fallen to Bell.
Las Vegas offers Bell the best opportunity to match Johnson
Bell won the Cup Series races in Atlanta, COTA, and Phoenix. His recent record in Las Vegas presents no reason to doubt that he cannot reach victory lane yet another time. He has had three top-5 finishes in the last four races at the intermediate track. The upcoming race will be the first of two times that the Cup Series field will race in Vegas.
The fall race will be a part of the playoffs, making it an extremely crucial event. This makes the coming challenge all the more important for a championship contender like Bell. He told the press in a recent interview, “What makes Vegas even more important is that it’s in the Round of 8 (of the playoffs).”
“That race, when you come back in the fall, is super important to have a really solid points day and contend for a win.
That fall Vegas race is everything, and there’s no better tune-up for it than the spring Vegas race.” Fans will have to wait only till Sunday to see if the No. 20 driver will create fresh history.
