Christopher Bell is about as nice a driver as there is in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Joe Gibbs Racing hero is known for his calm demeanor and his ability to race clean without antagonizing even his fiercest competitors. The only thing that puts him off his beat is a bad result. In a recent interview with Jeff Gluck, he detailed how difficult things are for him after a bad race.
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“It depends if it’s your fault or not,” he said when asked how he debriefs when things don’t go his way. “If you have a bad race and it’s not your fault, it’s really no big deal. The team morale is basically just like, ’On to the next one.’ If it is your fault, it hits hard.” Bell is someone who takes full accountability for mistakes. So, when a race goes badly because of him, he takes it extremely hard.
He continued, “There’s not anyone on my team or in my life that’s going to hold me more accountable than myself. I would say the worst time for me is post-race Sunday night. Being the weak link is the worst feeling in the world.” Fortunately, he is a very talented race car driver, and things seldom go badly because of him. After two average outings at Daytona and Atlanta, he came back on track at COTA.
This week’s 12 Questions is with Christopher — NOT Chris — Bell. On why he prefers Christopher and what he’d give up a toe to win (free link, no paywall): https://t.co/dToCo7LWvH
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) March 5, 2026
He finished third, behind Tyler Reddick and Shane van Gisbergen, at the road course. Bell currently sits 24th on the points table. This is not where he wants to be at this point in the season. The Chase format is in play, and consistent performances matter now more than ever. Bell understands this as much as any other driver on the track and will look to keep himself in the top-5 in upcoming races.
Why was Bell frustrated with his performance at COTA?
Some drivers would kill for a third-place finish at tracks like the Circuit of the Americas. So, Bell, sensibly, should have been pleased with his finish. But the hunger for wins runs too deep in him, and he couldn’t simply settle for being in the top-5.
He told the press, “I got that great restart on new tires, and I am like, ‘I am in position here. We are gonna go do this.’ And then, I just stalled out. All race long, whenever I was on equal tires with the others, I was falling backwards … It was an off-road course race for us. Normally, we are stronger than that. Got saved by some new tires.”
Bell’s next race will be at the Phoenix Raceway this Sunday. He won that fixture last season to complete a three-race win streak. It remains to be seen if he can defend his victory successfully and go on a similar streak this season.
