The ‘win and you’re in’ may be gone, but the importance of winning remains critical in the battle to become a NASCAR Cup Series champion. Ryan Preece showed just how valuable a win can be last than a week ago at Daytona International Speedway.
And while there is one point between each position on track, that abruptly jumps to 20 points between the runner-up spot and the race winner. That means the gap between P2 and P22 on the track is identical to first and second.
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Unfortunately for Christopher Bell, there is no driver more experienced with second-place in the 2026 season than he is. Seven times he has finished second, and all of them have been under three tenths of a second.
Phoenix Raceway– 2nd, 0.399s behind
Coca-Cola 600 — 2nd, under caution
Nashville Superspeedway — 2nd, 0.115s behind
Chicagoland Speedway — 2nd, 0.276s behind
EchoPark Speedway — 2nd, 0.068s behind
Brickyard 400 — 2nd, 0.287s behind
Iowa Speedway — 2nd, 0.253s behind
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That’s 140 points Bell left on the table, but could Bell still become the first winless champion in Cup Series history by consistency alone?
Bell doubts it, saying at Chase Media day: “Can we do this? Can we win a championship? Yes. Without winning, right? Can we win a championship without winning a race? No. That’s my answer. I don’t believe so.”
Watch: Bell calls Iowa result a ‘bad second-place finish’
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing
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