For the first time in a long time, the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs will start with a speedway race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Such races are unpredictable but that’s not all. The two races following it will be at Watkins Glen and Bristol, a road course and a short track. The round of 16 is arguably the most diverse of the playoffs concerning the tracks and some drivers are concerned about how things might go. One of them is Joe Gibbs Racing star Christopher Bell.
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The #20 driver made it through to the championship round in the last couple of seasons but has yet to win the big prize. He will be hoping to do so this time around but the first objective is to clear the first round. With three different types of tracks in the picture, that can be tough.
Atlanta is as unpredictable as it gets and the earlier race at Bristol this season saw unprecedented levels of tire degradation. No one knows what to expect from the short track this time around. And then there is the road course which can always be tricky for stock car drivers.
“I’ll be honest, the first round is the scariest it’s been in a long time with Atlanta, a superspeedway starting us off,” he said in a media interaction.
“And then we go to Watkins Glen, which should be a normal race track, but with the expected tire degradation with the tire change that we’ve had, it could be a Bristol-style race where people are wearing tires out really early and struggling to make laps and having to pit all of the time.”
Thankfully, Bell is one of the drivers who have a good reserve of playoff points. He won three races in the regular season and those will come into handy if he does not run well in the upcoming races. The JGR star will hope that he does not have to rely on them in the first round, however.
Bell reveals road course confidence with The Glen on the horizon
Despite expressing some concern about Watkins Glen, Bell is not that worried about road course racing. He finished P2 and P9 at COTA and Sonoma earlier this season and has some confidence for the race at The Glen. That doesn’t mean he’s taking it easy but the #20 driver enjoys racing at high-speed road courses. So he will be looking to get the most out of that race.
“I wouldn’t have pegged Watkins Glen as a track I notoriously do well at, but road course racing, I think I feel confident with that. Watkins Glen is a fast track. I really enjoy the fast road courses. Yeah, I don’t know why it’s been that way, but yeah, I like it,” he explained.
Despite being incredibly talented at what he does, it’s not going to be easy for the driver of the #20 car. But a man who has reached the championship round in the last two seasons can be relied on to comfortably get through the round of 16.
