Christopher Bell has done it again! The Joe Gibbs Racing driver secured his second consecutive Cup Series victory, becoming the first driver to achieve the feat since 2023. After his triumph at the 2025 Ambetter Health 400, the Oklahoman emerged victorious from a four-car battle at the Circuit of the Americas, leading eight laps out of 95 to finish 0.433 seconds faster than William Byron. The win came at the expense of Kyle Busch, who led a race-high 42 laps, eventually struggling for grip, that relegated him to fifth place. Despite being pleased with the win, Christopher Bell was more relieved to avoid a similar situation to last year.

Reflecting on the events that transpired in the closing laps, Bell confessed that racing cleanly against Busch was on his mind while he attempted to make the overtake. Will the controversy from last year finally be put to rest after the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s triumph this year?

Christopher Bell wanted to earn his victory at COTA

Christopher Bell was hoping to avoid history repeating itself. With Kyle Busch in the lead during the closing laps, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was determined not to get his hands dirty this time around. Memories of the Lap 40 incident between the two racers were fresh on his mind, despite a year passing by, as the No. 20 Toyota made contact with Rowdy’s No. 8 Chevy, causing the Richard Childress Racing star to spin and lose several positions. What followed was a confrontation between the two, with the Oklahoman acknowledging his mistake, even though the two-time Cup Series winner was out for blood.

Feeling relieved that a similar incident was avoided this time around, Christopher Bell said in the post-race interview, “That was almost deja vu of last year. I had the track position that time. These road course races are so much fun. Whenever Kyle was leading, I was just trying to be so cautious. Obviously, we know what happened last year, I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted to pass him clean. He was doing such a good job at running his race. He could get off the corner just good enough that I couldn’t get inside of him. Then I started peeking a nose, he bobbled and allowed me to get out front.”

It was quite a statement triumph from Bell. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was cautiously aggressive when Busch was in the lead, but after Rowdy was cleared, the No. 20 Toyota held on to his advantage despite William Byron hot on his heels. It was truly an impressive performance by Christopher Bell at COTA’s newly configured 2.3-mile road course, as he became the first driver since Kevin Harvick in 2018 to win two of his opening three Cup Series races. The triumph also highlighted his versatility, as the 30-year-old won at a speedway last week before going on to secure a victory at a road course this time around.

The Oklahoman seems to have gotten off to a flying start this year. In addition to securing 40 championship points for winning the race, Christopher Bell managed to pick up two more points for finishing ninth in Stage 2 as well as an additional point for the Xfinity Fastest Lap. Circuit of The Americas was a track the No. 20 Toyota team would have identified during the off-season as a potential winning fixture, and that’s exactly what happened at the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. However, knowing that NASCAR is a sport defined by fine margins and that every point counts to keep his championship hopes alive, the 30-year-old remains hungry for more triumphs, going on to say, “I’m ready to keep adding to it.”

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So close, yet so far for Kyle Busch

Missed opportunity. That’s how Kyle Busch will view the race at the newly overhauled Circuit of The Americas. Despite leading the maximum number of laps, the No. 8 Chevy simply didn’t have enough grip to keep up with Christopher Bell’s late charge. While fans were eager to see Rowdy finally break his 59-race winless streak, his Richard Childress Racing vehicle struggled to keep up with the four-car battle toward the end, eventually relegating him to fifth place behind Bell, Byron, Reddick, and Elliott. Despite the heartbreak, the two-time Cup Series champion can take plenty of positives from the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix after securing his first top-five and second top-ten result of the season.

Sharing his thoughts on being overtaken by Bell, Kyle Busch said, “I wish we had a little bit more at the end. I feel like maybe the two-lap pressure tires the 20 [Christopher Bell] had made the difference. All things considered, I’d love to have equal tires to the 20. I also hated to see that yellow that came out. It had a little bit of a gap there. I was protecting my tires, I ran all the lines I had to run. I didn’t run defensive lines and use up my stuff even more so. I’ll give Christopher credit. He raced really hard, and I was a complete b—-head. He did a great job working me over and just doing it the right way, so congrats to him, congrats to the 20 bunch. But I wish it was us.”

A collision between Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon saw a caution flag, which was detrimental for Busch. The #8 had a 2-second lead on his competitors wiped out by that flag, and he was always fighting a losing battle from then on.

Getting compliments from Busch would be a big relief for Christopher Bell, who was hoping that the 2024 incident between the two drivers would be a closed chapter once and for all. Even though Rowdy will be understandably gutted at the outcome at COTA, he won’t have time to grieve as the Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway is on the horizon. After seeing signs of encouragement from the No. 8 Chevy, the veteran racer will be back in the garage with his team, making tweaks to his vehicle with the hope that they will finally be the first ones to cross the finish line at ‘The Desert Oddball’ next weekend.