Christopher Bell heads to Las Vegas this weekend with the chance to match a record last set by Jimmie Johnson. If he reaches victory lane in Sin City, he will become the first driver to win four consecutive Cup Series races since Johnson in 2007. It is at this juncture that he has claimed the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to be the best track that he hasn’t won at.
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He said in a press conference following his victory in Phoenix, “Vegas is probably my best track on the schedule that I haven’t won at. Between the Truck Series and the Xfinity Series, I’ve led a ton of laps there. Even in the Cup Series, I’ve led a lot of laps there, yet still haven’t won. Vegas is a really good racetrack for me, and I know it could come at any time.”
Bell has started 10 Cup Series races at the 1.5-mile intermediate track and secured five top-10 finishes in them. He finished as the runner-up in two of the last three races at the track. In the most recent race there in October, he led 155 laps before settling for second place behind Team Penske’s Joey Logano.
He has had the dream start to the season. He won at Atlanta, he won at the Circuit of the Americas, and he won at the Phoenix Raceway. Winning for the first time in Vegas would catapult his stardom to unprecedented levels and could finally lift him off the pit of underappreciation. For these reasons and more, Bell fully understood the importance of the upcoming weekend.
Why the upcoming race in Las Vegas is crucial for Bell
The Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of the seven intermediate tracks on the Cup Series schedule. Being the most prevalent type of tracks that drivers race at, intermediates play a huge role in deciding who the champion is. Las Vegas hosts two races, with its second race falling in the playoffs.
Bell stresses the importance of the track: “Vegas is a true barometer of the intermediates. It’s kind of like the last style of track that we haven’t been to yet this season. It’s an important race because you have a lot of points to be gained or lost on the intermediate-style tracks. But what makes Vegas even more important is that it’s in the Round of 8 (of the playoffs).”
The playoff race in Vegas will come at a point where drivers have a lot at stake. This weekend’s fixture is the best practice anyone can get before the bigger event arrives. As a championship contender, it is all the more important for Bell to understand and excel at this track.
