Christopher Bell lit up Bristol Motor Speedway on September 13, 2025, snagging his fourth win of the season in a wild, tire-shredding Night Race. With 14 cautions shaking up the field, Bell played the strategy game perfectly, pitting for fresh Goodyears late and slicing through worn-out leaders. On the final lap, he held off a hard-charging Brad Keselowski, who threw a bump-and-run that couldn’t shake Bell’s grip, crossing the line just 0.343 seconds ahead.

The victory snapped a 24-race winless streak, punched Bell’s ticket to the Round of 12, and put the NASCAR world on notice: Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota are a force to be reckoned with. As Bell heads to New Hampshire’s “Magic Mile” for the playoff opener, he’s riding high, calling JGR a “powerhouse” and eyeing more Toyota dominance.

Bell’s big talk on JGR’s dominance

Before the New Hampshire race, Christopher Bell didn’t hold back, brimming with confidence about his team’s playoff run. “Yeah, I mean, certainly. We’re feeling good. You know Joe Gibbs Racing has asserted itself as the powerhouse team in the sport right now. So we’re loving life,” he said.

JGR’s 2024 season was a masterclass. Bell alone bagged three wins, 15 top-fives, and 23 top-10s, finishing fifth overall. With multiple championships under their belt, JGR’s reputation as NASCAR’s top dog is rock-solid, and Bell’s Bristol win only added to their playoff swagger.

He kept the vibe upbeat, “Keep the ball rolling. It’s a week-by-week basis, and you know the schedule certainly lays out really well for the Toyotas to run well for a little bit here, and hopefully we can do that.” Toyota’s been a juggernaut in 2025, with JGR drivers like Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Denny Hamlin tearing through the Round of 16.

The upcoming tracks with New Hampshire, Kansas, and the Roval play to Toyota’s strengths, especially after Bell’s 2024 Loudon win. “But certainly we’re all super happy and thrilled with how it’s going,” Bell added, though he gave a nod to Briscoe, who’s been JGR’s playoff pacesetter.

Bell’s Bristol triumph was a thrill, but he’s keeping it real about what it means for the playoffs.

Bristol’s lucky break and qualifying woes

“Certainly, winning helps, but we didn’t lead laps,” he admitted. “Once again, I won a race, but I didn’t lead laps, which is okay. I will gladly take that. Last week was just such unique circumstances. We kind of won the lottery last week.”

The race’s tire-cording chaos turned it into a survival game, and Bell’s fresh-tire strategy paid off big. “Whoever won that race was going to have to have a substantial amount of luck, and fortunately, it was on our side,” he said. Despite the W, Bell knows Bristol’s weird setup, where he led just a handful of laps compared to 1,145 in 2024, doesn’t fully show JGR’s strength.

The bigger issue? Qualifying. “What we have to do better is we’ve got to start qualifying better,” Bell stressed. “That is mission-critical. Oh, my goodness.” His 13.5 average starting spot in 2025 lags behind last year’s 11.2, and it’s a sore spot compared to teammates Briscoe and Hamlin, who’ve snagged nine poles combined to Bell’s one.

Bell’s realistic but hopeful,  “I think, you look at the race tracks on paper and they say that we should be really good at all of these tracks, and we should be able to have good performance.” With five extra playoff points from Bristol, he’s 20 above the Round of 12 cutline, a cushion that could carry JGR’s “powerhouse” momentum.