RICHMOND, Va. — Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell claimed his seventh runner-up finish last weekend at Iowa Speedway, tying him with NASCAR legend Harry Gant (1981) for the most runner-up finishes in a winless season. His 11 runner-up finishes since 2025 are nearly twice as many as any other competitor’s — his JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe each have six.
But as frustrating as the close calls may feel in the moment, the 31-year-old conceded after a little time to reflect that he has to look at the efforts in a positive way. The driver of the No. 20 Toyota would certainly love to hoist his first trophy of the year in Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway (7 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Bell has seven top 10s in 10 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond, with his best career finish — yes — a runner-up showing in 2022. He has also led 230 laps at the track.
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He does have three wins here in what is now the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, including a two-race sweep in 2018.
“Certainly, all of the second-place finishes — they’re trying, and, in the moment, it really kind of feels like just a kick to the gut, but then whenever Monday, Tuesday rolls around, you’re like, ah, it was a pretty darn good day,” conceded Bell.
“So, ultimately, the results that we’ve gotten have meant a lot more this year than what they have in my entire Cup career with the format change. So, it’s been nice to stack some good results together, and we’re performing really well right now. I certainly feel like we’re in the mix.”
Bell’s work at Iowa moved him up four spots in the championship standings to sixth place, and he’s only four points behind his teammate Briscoe in fifth. With points now determining The Chase field instead of the win-and-you’re-in format of recent seasons, top fives and top 10s are impactful.
“They mean more today in this year than they have for the previous format, my entire Cup career and NASCAR career for that matter,” Bell said. “The point standings and where you’re running at in points is super important, but the entire previous championship format was very much win or bust. I think that mentality is still engraved in at least my mind and probably most of the industry’s mind, but in all reality, it’s not win or bust anymore.”