Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of four stories examining why each Championship 4 driver could win the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Tuesday: Kyle Larson
Wednesday: Christopher Bell
Thursday: William Byron
Friday: Ryan Blaney
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Christopher Bell will win the 2023 championship because …
It’s closing time, baby.
We anointed Bell as the sport’s new “Closer” in this space last year — and, remarkably, before incumbent Kevin Harvick announced his retirement — after the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver redefined the definition of clutch by winning back-to-back elimination races in 2022 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course and Martinsville Speedway. The Norman, Oklahoma, native did not win last year’s title, but he did follow last season up with an arguably better one in 2023 that saw, yet again, a patented Bell breakthrough playoff performance when he needed it most at Homestead, even leading NASCAR.com colleague Zack Albert to double-down on the “Closer” sentiments.
JGR could have had three cars vying for the title in Sunday’s Phoenix finale, but instead, it was Bell who outlasted his teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., who own a combined 85 Cup Series wins. And it’s no fluke.
Even with Ty Gibbs rising in the stardom ranks, Bell is the future face of JGR, and that could fully come into focus on Sunday if he delivers something that his future Hall of Fame teammates haven’t yet — a championship for team owner Joe Gibbs.
RELATED: All of Christopher Bell’s national series wins
“The opportunity in front of me to become a Cup champion is the opportunity every race car driver dreams of,” Bell said. “I can’t wait to get out there and enjoy the moment and try and make it happen. I feel like Phoenix is one of my best tracks on the schedule; it’s a place I know we can go out and win.”
After hearing for years — in a not too dissimilar vein to friendly Championship 4 rival Kyle Larson — that he’s the “next big thing,” Bell appears poised for this moment, has arguably the best pit caller atop the box in championship crew chief Adam Stevens and seems to live for these moments. The extra week to prep probably didn’t hurt, either.
Sunday could mark Bell’s first NASCAR Cup Series championship — and it could be the first of many.
Key stats: 2 wins, 19 top 10s, 10 top fives, 6 poles, 599 laps led, 9.5 average start, 12.3 average finish.
Championship 4 history: This is Christopher Bell’s second Championship 4 appearance after making it for the first time a season ago. He’s the only returner from the 2022 Championship 4.
Defining 2023 moment: Winning at Homestead to lock himself into the Championship 4, with a tip of the cap to finally capitalizing on his dirt background by winning the Bristol Dirt Race.
Watch out for: Pit-road mistakes. Far too often this season, it seemed Bell was out in front early in a race — often from the pole — because of the raw nature of the speed in his No. 20 Toyota, only to get shuffled back for the ensuing restart after a slow or disjointed pit stop. The crew will need to be on their game on Sunday, and they’ll have to be perfect to get it done.