Christopher Bell entered New Hampshire Motor Speedway aiming to capitalize on recent successes, including a win at Bristol and recalling his prior victory at Loudon over Chase Briscoe. However, despite this momentum and strong outlook, the event revealed lingering Christopher Bell qualifying challenges, as his No. 20 Toyota could not match the expected pace to defend last year’s win.
Bell ended qualifying in 19th place, far behind the leaders in the Mobil 1 301. As Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney commanded up front—Blaney ultimately securing the victory—Bell managed to gather points in Stage 2 and fought to a sixth-place finish. While respectable, these results did not meet the season’s high expectations for either Bell or his Joe Gibbs Racing team.
Team Struggles Center on Starting Positions and Consistency
In discussing the ongoing team difficulties, Bell was clear about the main problem facing their championship ambitions:
“What we have to do better is we’ve got to start qualifying better. That is mission-critical. We’re frustrated a little bit of how we’ve qualifying especially compared to our team cars. I say that because the team cars are the barometer. If the team cars are qualifying well, then you should be qualifying well too. And, through the summer months, we couldn’t even put it in the top 10.”
— Christopher Bell, Driver
Bell explained that strong qualifying sessions are essential since a favorable grid spot gives a driver the chance to lead laps and accumulate stage points. He emphasized that, while the No. 20 car’s race pace is competitive, starting deeper in the field forces him to expend extra effort carving through traffic, putting his title hopes at risk against fellow JGR drivers like Denny Hamlin who make front-row starts routine.
“We’ve made gains on our qualifying performance and now it seems like we can consistently put it in the top 10, but our teammates are consistently putting it on the front row. Whenever you get deeper into the Playoffs, you have to be scoring stage points, and a lot of the stage points are dictated by your qualifying effort. So, yeah, that’s mission critical. We’ve got to start qualifying better, and along the lines of qualifying better, that’s how you lead laps.”
— Christopher Bell, Driver
Seeking Solutions Within the Team to Overcome Deficit
Bell noted that recent qualifying sessions have shown a persistent shortcoming in car balance compared to his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates. He recognized their ability to fine-tune their vehicles for optimal performance, which his side currently lacks by a small but crucial margin.
The driver admitted that both mechanical balance and driver execution are contributing factors. Looking across the organization, drivers such as Hamlin and Briscoe have found the right formula, and Bell is confident his team has the underlying potential if they manage to refine their setups.
“All of us – myself, Adam (Stevens, crew chief), the engineers, we all have to just buckle down and improve that if we want to go deeper here,”
Bell said. — Christopher Bell, Driver
Playoff Position Remains Solid Despite Obstacles
Following the New Hampshire round, Bell holds fourth place on the playoff standings and is 29 points clear of the cutline. This advantageous position keeps his chances alive for advancing to the Round of 8 once again, as he remains on the hunt for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. The perseverance of Bell, Stevens, and the engineers at JGR will be crucial as the postseason intensifies.
Focus Turns to Kansas as Bell Seeks Redemption
The next challenge awaits at Kansas Speedway, the second event in the Round of 12. Looking back, Bell finished seventh there last season. Over the course of 11 career starts at the 1.5-mile oval, he’s posted an average finish of 12.4 along with three top-five results. Consistent improvement in qualifying, especially against rivals like Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, will be needed to keep pace in the Playoffs. With Christopher Bell qualifying challenges now at the center of his title campaign, the upcoming races will be pivotal in deciding whether he can make a deeper postseason run.
