With the mounting pressure of securing a spot in the championship-4, the Round of 8 has arrived, compelling the top-8 drivers of the 2023 Cup Season to dance to its rhythm. Falling short of victory when it’s within reach under that pressure can be the most heartbreaking experience for a driver, arguably even more devastating than finishing in last place. Unfortunately, this exact scenario unfolded for Christopher Bell, a star in the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) stable, during the race at Las Vegas.

Christopher Bell came agonizingly close, trailing the winning car #5 by a mere fraction of a second. The narrow miss cost Bell the opportunity to solidify his position in the top 4, leaving him disheartened, a sentiment clearly evident in his post-race interviews.

A disheartened Christopher Bell fell short of reaching the coveted top-4 position

Kyle Larson‘s triumph at Las Vegas seemed almost preordained, considering his remarkable track record. He boasted a 10.5 average across 14 races, with an impressive ten top-10 finishes, including a victory in 2021 before today’s race. And this one marked his second win on this track. In contrast, Christopher Bell had previously secured three top-10 finishes in seven Las Vegas starts, with his best showing being fifth place just this March. 

It’s worth noting that the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) favorite displayed impressive force right from the moment he took his No. 20 JGR Toyota for a lap at 186.335 mph around the 1.5-mile Las Vegas high banks, clinching the sixth pole position for Toyota in this season’s seven NASCAR Cup Series Playoff races thus far.

Kyle Larson held off Christopher Bell at the finish line, securing victory in the South Point 400 and accumulating maximum points by winning both Stages 1 and 2. Larson, starting from outside the front row, overtook Christopher Bell on lap 3 and once more on lap 40, never looking back. Bell made an attempt to close the gap in the final laps, but he couldn’t quite catch up.

The instance visibly shattered Christopher Bell’s heart, as he lamented in his post-race interview, saying, “I don’t know what else I could’ve done. I feel like that was my moment, that was my moment to make the final four and didn’t quite capture it. Coming to the checkered there, I knew that he was going to be blocking, so I’m trying to go high and then he went high. But I don’t even know if I had a run to get by him to the line. So, just wasn’t enough.”

However, Bell did acknowledge that the stage points had been instrumental in propelling him and his team into the top 4 from the top 8 in the NASCAR playoff standings.

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Bell found solace in securing valuable stage points

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Despite his evident disappointment at finishing second, Christopher Bell’s day had its highlights as he claimed the pole position and accumulated crucial stage points, finishing second and third in Stage 1 and Stage 2, offsetting his initial playoff chart deficit of -2. Reflecting on his performance, Bell admitted, “A great, great day for sure to get those stage points, to get a second place finish out of it. I think we saw we were minus two, so we are not out of it by any means, but it would have been nice to lock in.” 

Moreover, although it might not entirely help with the distress of the JGR driver, even Kyle Larson himself had words of praise for the way #20 conducted himself during the final laps. As per ESPN.com, Larson remarked, “I could see him coming in my mirror, for sure. Thankfully, Christopher always races extremely clean. Could have got crazier than it did coming to the start/finish line. Thank you to him for racing with respect there.”

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Certainly, had Denny Hamlin been in that position, the outcome might have taken a different turn. But for now, it’s Kyle Larson who has earned his spot in the minds and hearts of NASCAR fans, and they can undoubtedly look forward to seeing him at Phoenix.