Joe Gibbs Racing experienced all the highs and lows of NASCAR between its four drivers on Sunday at Iowa Speedway, but despite his high finish, it’s possible no man was left more frustrated with how the race played out than Christopher Bell.
Bell finished in second, just behind teammate Ty Gibbs, who took down his second win of the season and career at the short track. While Bell was closing in through the final laps, Gibbs leaned on some stellar defensive driving and refused to let his teammate get past him for the win.
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Second place in NASCAR is a tough place to be, leaving a driver to question if there was any single move they could have made to change their fate. But Bell’s second place was even more frustrating than what a driver might normally feel, as it was his seventh second-place finish of the season and fourth in the past five races.
“This is what you call a bad second-place finish for sure,” Bell said after the race. “I don’t know what else to say. Ty did a really good job. He did a great job managing the race. I could tell that he was slipping and sliding around, and similar to two weeks ago with Corey Heim, he just didn’t make a mistake.”
“So, P2,” Bell concluded with a rather unconvincing smile.
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Watch: Bell calls Iowa result a ‘bad second-place finish’
Bell’s year has been a success by many measures. He is sixth in the standings with three races left before the start of The Chase, and his teammate Denny Hamlin is the only driver in the series with more top-five finishes than him. His championship hopes are certainly alive.
But by other measures, Bell’s frustration is extremely understandable. While sixth in the standings feels like a good place to be, he is currently also last in the standings among JGR’s four drivers, trailing Hamlin (1st), Gibbs (2nd) and Chase Briscoe (5th). He’s also the only driver in the top eight of the standings without a win.
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Given how high Bell has been running, it sure feels like he has a win coming his way, and one victory could very well be enough to spark a run to his first championship. At the same time, after coming oh-so-close to a win only to be foiled yet again on Sunday, Bell’s mental strength is set to be tested even more over the next few weeks.
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