Bristol is the next race up on the calendar, and everyone is discussing the track’s main issue. The tire wear at Bristol is quite high, and this has led to many drivers discussing their strategy for the weekend. However, after a chaotic Watkins Glen race, Christopher Bell has some other things playing in his mind.
The Watkins Glen race went into overtime after it faced multiple restarts. The number of incidents on the track brought up the question of whether NASCAR should be policing drivers more. Although none of the accidents at The Glen were risky, the concern for driver safety does come up. This is what Christopher Bell was asked in an interview, and let’s take a look at what he had to answer.
Christopher Bell doesn’t enjoy chaotic racing
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Christopher Bell is doing quite well this season and is currently second on the playoff charts. He has a strong chance of winning a title and he is ready to take on the next couple of races. Before the Bristol race, an interviewer from Frontstretch.com met up with him to ask, “Going back to the finish of last week, and as you mentioned, this sets a record for the most overtime finishes in one NASCAR Cup season ever. Multiple overtimes. Do you feel like there needs to be some sort of change going forward?”
Bell tried to make a neutral statement during the interview, while explaining his sentiments, saying, “I don’t know what the answer is because, personally, as a race fan, I don’t like watching the races end under a yellow flag. But I also don’t like the demo derby that we have at times as well.” Knowing that it’s not his decision to make, he explains, “So, that’s not really my call, and I’ll play by the rules, but I definitely don’t like seeing races end under yellow.”
A follow-up question came in as the interviewer asked, “Would it be worth it if NASCAR maybe stepped in and did a judgment call here and there? Or would that be better than what we have now? Or do you want drivers policing themselves, and do you want NASCAR to stay out of it?” This has been a debate that many in the NASCAR community are having, and Christopher Bell’s answer to that was, “Yeah, I mean, well, drivers policing themselves is certainly what has got us to the point we’re at today.”
Bell explained how he does not believe that the current strategy is working and wants NASCAR to step in and make some decisions. Trying to come up with a solution, he suggested, “I think single-file restarts would help tremendously, especially on road courses.” This is a slightly far-fetched opinion, and Bell acknowledges it to be one. With a hint that NASCAR might not consider his advice, he stated, “So, you know, I don’t think any of those ideas are high on NASCAR’s priority list, but I do think either officiating driving standards or single-file restarts would really help mitigate the carnage we have.”
What’s your perspective on:
Is Christopher Bell right? Are NASCAR drivers to blame for the recent chaos on the track?
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Watkins Glen had wrecks from the first lap to the last; this made the race interesting to watch but also had drivers put themselves at high risk for that. Bell hopes that the incidents on tracks reduce so he has a fair fight chance of becoming the Cup Series Champion.
How has Christopher Bell done so far in 2024?
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With three wins during the regular season, it’s safe to say that Christopher Bell is doing quite well. Winning at Phoenix while leading most laps to the win at Charlotte and New Hampshire, he proved that he deserves to be in the playoffs. So far, he has not yet won a championship, but this year looks likely as he is only behind Joey Logano in the playoffs.
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This year Bell has had ten top-5 finishes, and for most of the season, every time he did not have a 30th+ finish, he made it into the top 10. The exception being at Texas, Darlington, Pocono, and The Glen. He has been consistent throughout the season, and with top-10 finishes in all other races, he has proved that he is chasing the championship that has slipped out of his hands in the last 2 years.
Bell did have a great finish in the last 2 years where he missed out on the championship by just a few points. In 2023, it was the championship race at Phoenix, where he suffered from a brake rotor failure. This happened on lap 108 while he was running 6th. The failure caused him to crash into the turn 3 wall, which ended up with him not finishing the race.
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Considering the way the grid is at this point, do you think that he has a chance to win the championship? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
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Debate
Is Christopher Bell right? Are NASCAR drivers to blame for the recent chaos on the track?