Two years ago, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson won the first race in the Round of 8 to lift the championship trophy. This year, the #5 driver has done it again. He won the race in Las Vegas and grabbed an early spot for the Championship 4 race in Phoenix. However, this does not bode well for the remaining title contenders, especially the stars of Joe Gibbs Racing, long-time rivals of HMS.

Joe Gibbs, fielding three playoff racers, was in dire need of a win in this round. He almost got his wish with his #20 runner-up driver. But Bubba Wallace’s spotter knew why Christopher Bell could not defeat Kyle Larson. And the brutal reason would crush the Joe Gibbs Racing owner.

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Christopher Bell won the pole position for the South Point 400 race this weekend. Despite pit road and lapped car delays, Bell still proved his oft-neglected skill and expertise to remain a front-runner for the checkered flag throughout the race. But the Joe Gibbs driver still fell short in front of Kyle Larson’s extraordinary might.

The #5 driver swept the stages and overcame a loose tire to display his undisputable dominance on the 1.5-mile racetrack. A dejected Bell was now 2 points below the cut-off line and felt he lost his championship moment along with the race. In the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, talked about the #20 racer.

“I get what he is saying. He said something about getting stuck behind some of the lapped cars at one point, gave out some of the gap. It stings when you get stuck for a lap and lose a little bit of time and you end up on the guy?s bumper. You know you could have done something differently. Obviously, at the moment, knowing that all I had to do was get ahead of the guy and I?ll be in the final championship versus now being 2 points out.”

At the same time, Kraft pointed out the inescapable truth about the Round of 8 race. In fact, Christopher Bell was great in Las Vegas. But he was up against a racer who was just better. Considering the fact that Larson won the Playoff Homestead last year, Kraft declared,

“I mean, obviously it?s his best shot when he?s on the other guy?s bumper coming to the checkered. But I think this wasn?t- he did what he had to do yesterday. He went out there, performed, got stage points, ran Top 5- Top 3 really, all day long and now he has set himself up…He can run good at Homestead, don?t get me wrong. I just meant he [Bell] is not as good as Kyle Larson, which by the way nobody is, at running the oval.

With the Vegas win, Larson rose to the top of the playoff chart and could comfortably await the remaining three contenders in Phoenix. Bell, on the other hand, has a lot to worry about with an average finish of 13 in the last three years. Giving an interesting take on the situation, Freddie Kraft said Bell could still cross the cut-off line if he did not become his own worst enemy.

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He reasoned, “I think he is going to be fine. He just has to limit mistakes like he has had in the past. I?ve said here before, Christopher Bell spins out a lot if he steps over the line. It?s easy for him to step over the line sometimes. So if he can stay within himself and go back and do what he did yesterday and get Top 3 stage points, Top 3 in the race… probably jump that cut line coming out of Homestead.”

Kyle Larson’s Martinsville win earlier this season makes him a formidable foe for all the Joe Gibbs drivers. Can Christopher Bell conquer his Homestead hesitance against the track’s defending champion?

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