Bell, 27, entered the 2022 playoffs as the 10th seed (of 16 drivers) with one win and two stage victories during the regular season.
But his performance exploded in the first round as the only driver who finished in the top-five in all three races (Darlington, S.C., Kansas and Bristol, Tenn.).
The second round turned out nearly exactly opposite as he wrecked out of the Texas race and finishing a disappointing 17th at Talladega, Ala.
That left the top performer from the first round in danger of elimination last weekend at the Charlotte Roval, needing a win to advance. That’s exactly what he did.
Thanks to a timely pit call for four new tires on the next-to-last caution, Bell barreled through the field, passed leader Kevin Harvick on the start of overtime and claimed the victory and automatic advancement to the Round of 8.
It’s been an up-and-down year for the second-year Cup Series driver but with four races remaining in the season, he still has a viable chance at his first series championship.
Staying alive in the title fight
“From the first 10 races into the season, I knew that our performance and capability was there. We had a lot of things working against us,” Bell said. “Whenever we left I want to say Atlanta, I don’t remember what race Atlanta was in the season, but three or four races in we were positioned last in the points standings.
“I think a lot of people had written me off as a driver, written the No. 20 car off, ‘Christopher is going to get fired’ – I got that all the time; that I’m getting replaced. The No. 20 car is the revolving door, he’s going to be out of here.
“We’re still alive. That feels really good. I wouldn’t have guessed that a week ago or even five hours ago.”
Bell is hoping the third round of the playoffs – which features races at Las Vegas, Homestead, Fla., and Martinsville, Va. – will produce a return to the performance he showcased in the first round.
Bell, and the Toyota teams in general, have been strong this season in the Next Gen car on intermediate tracks like Las Vegas and Homestead.
“I feel extremely good about what we have going on here in the next three races. Ever since the schedule laid out and we were looking at the playoffs, the Round of 16 all were really good race tracks for us,” he said.
“The Round of 12 with Talladega and (the Roval) in there, I was super-concerned and nervous. I still felt like we were going to be able to make it through it because we’re really good at Texas. Whenever we left (Texas) with a whopping three points, I was just really down, down in the dumps, sad.
“Then we went to Talladega, and we needed a home run. We needed lot of points, and we didn’t score a lot of points. This whole last two weeks, I had been extremely deflated, just kind of down in the dumps.”
Now, Bell said, he’s as excited as he’s ever been in the playoffs in his short stint as a fulltime Cup Series driver.
“I don’t think we’re done,” he said. “A two-win season is not our end goal. I think that we’re certainly capable of more. I want to be a household name in the Cup Series.
“Hopefully, this is just the start.”
