Christopher Bell is itching to crash the Joe Gibbs Racing party at Phoenix, but there is one big roadblock. JGR has been on fire in the Round of 8, with Denny Hamlin snagging his 60th win and Chase Briscoe putting on a Talladega show. But now, as NASCAR rolls into Martinsville for the final race before the Championship 4, Bell’s teammates are doing everything they can to get him into the mix. But standing in the way is Kyle Larson.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver has kept his nose clean, and he sits right below Bell in the playoff standings with a 1-point gap, desperate to extend his lead over the JGR driver. With only two spots up for grabs, it is going to take a mix of skill, guts, and maybe a little luck for Bell to punch his ticket into the championship 4, as he is set to battle Kyle Larson. But the No. 20 driver has a plan in mind.

Christopher Bell is focused on defeating Larson

In a candid conversation, NASCAR journalist Peter Stratta revealed that Larson had been keeping an eye on Bell, to which the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said, “That was friendly of him. That’s cool. Glad he’s going to be paying attention to me… I think it just makes our job, like the 20 car’s job, a little bit easier because we don’t have to, you know, focus on very many other competitors other than, you know, Kyle and what he’s doing, how many points he’s got, stuff like that. So yeah, it’s when this race is very unique because it’s under, you know, only very rare circumstances that you single out a couple of people.”

Currently, Christopher Bell is enjoying a comfortable 37-point cushion, giving him a rare buffer heading into Martinsville, but it comes with its own caveats. If none of the drivers below the cut line win, Bell could lock in a Championship 4 spot with a solid finish. His consistent short-track performance, along with a pole and second-place finish at the Martinsville spring race, suggests that he can stay cool under pressure.

That being said, a victory from William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott would eat into Bell’s lead and put his spot in the final four at risk. However, Saturday seemed to be a little disappointing for the JGR driver, as he only managed to grab a 12th-place start compared to Larson’s extremely speedy qualifying performance that landed him a P3 start for Sunday’s race.

The battle is on between the two. Even Larson has acknowledged it, saying, ” I’d say we really need to outpoint [Christopher] Bell. It’s going to be interesting. Obviously, we’ll be focused on the race, but for us, one guy matters more than the rest. It’s similar for them. They’ll be watching what we’re doing throughout the day, too. Hopefully, we’ll have a strong car, qualify well, grab stage points, and do everything we can to gain as many points as possible.”

But if Christopher Bell manages to overcome his Martinsville bad luck from last year’s playoff race, he will then fight for the title with his JGR teammates. The No. 20 driver’s hopes of advancing to the Championship 4 were dashed due to a controversial final lap maneuver. While battling for position, Christopher made contact with Bubba Wallace and subsequently rode the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4.

Initially, the JGR driver crossed the finish line in 18th place, seemingly securing his spot. However, NASCAR officials reviewed the incident and deemed Bell’s wall ride a safety violation, resulting in a penalty that dropped him to 22nd place, one lap down. This penalty allowed Kyle Larson’s teammate, William Byron, to advance to the Championship 4 by just four points. But Bell is definitely looking to change things around this year.

But advancing into the Championship 4 would be battling his teammates for the title. That could be a tricky road to navigate; however, Chase Briscoe understands why chasing JGR teammates for the title feels normal at this point. But as Bell prepares and sets in place a strong strategy for tomorrow, Kyle Larson is feeling much more confident as he exits his slump.

Kyle Larson seems to have finally found his stride

After a summer of ups and downs, Kyle Larson is feeling optimistic about his Hendrick Motorsports team heading into Sunday’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway. He entered the weekend holding the final transfer spot to the Championship 4, 36 points ahead of teammate William Byron, who sits just below the cut line.

Larson has been a force of nature in the playoffs, as he scored four top 10 finishes in the past five playoff races. Speaking to reporters, he said, “I feel like we’re back to a very similar spot of where we were up to May.” Still, the No. 5 driver remains winless in his last 22 races, tying his longest drought since joining HMS in 2021.

Martinsville has historically treated Larson well; he’s finished in the top six in each of the last six races there, including a fifth-place finish in the spring and third in last year’s playoff race. Normally, one would expect similar results from him this year as well.

Even with that success, the tricky half-mile track remains a challenge. But with the margin between Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson so razor-thin, one can expect a fierce fight between the two tomorrow. But at the end of the day, Martinsville will have the final say in this matter.