Although the NASCAR Cup Series 2024 season has come to an end, it seems as though Christopher Bell’s wounds are still fresh. After working hard all season long, claiming twenty-three Top 10 and fifteen Top 5 finishes, the JGR #20 could not secure a spot to contend for the championship. 

As most would know by now, Bell had to give up a position in the Championship 4 after the 29-year-old was penalized for an illegal “wall ride”. With a 27-minute delay in the verdict, Hendrick Motorsports, William Byron made it to the final 4 and replaced the No. 20 driver. NASCAR insiders delved into his playoff run and why people shouldn’t lose faith in the JGR star.

Did Martinsville become the reason for all the misery?

The 2024 season was going quite well for Christopher Bell. His consistent performances had put him at the center of all the attention. When a victory at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was followed by yet another triumph at New Hampshire a month later, fans started to believe in Bell. He had a strong run in the playoffs as well, and his consistency reached new heights. The #20 finished in the top-10 in 7/8 races in the playoffs leading up to Martinsville, where it all went south.

Speaking on his incredible run, NASCAR insider Jordan Bianchi mentioned, “And then you look at their finishes, you know fourth, fifth, seventh, sixth, second, second, fourth, fifth, like that’s really good. Now Martinsville is the outlier, 22nd because of things.”

The climax of the Martinsville race was the epitome of drama. Christopher Bell was attempting to eliminate William Byron from the Championship 4. The HMS driver was essentially being escorted to the finish line by his Chevy teammates, Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain. The Hendrick Motorsport car driver was in a tough spot as losing the position would mean him getting eliminated and Bell would go through. In a desperate attempt to qualify over William Byron, Bell overtook the #23 Bubba Wallace and ended up losing grip of his tires and riding the wall, a move deemed illegal by NASCAR. He was penalized, which not only reduced his position to 22 at Martinsville but ensured that he could not make it to Phoenix. However, his season was still phenomenal on paper.

Bianchi continued, “But your faith was more than justified and we have seen this playoff format by the way, you don’t need to win. You can win the championship without having to win the first nine races. Now you probably going to have to win that 10th race, but we have seen drivers have a great playoff, and not win and make the Championship Four and that would have been the case with Bell’. Evidently, this is what Joey Logano did in 2024, to an extent. The Penske driver won the playoff opener in Atlanta and then snuck into the Round of 8 after Alex Bowman’s disqualification at the Roval. He won the first playoff race in the round of 8 at Las Vegas and his next win was at Phoenix to clinch the championship. 

Bell was quite shocked at this verdict by NASCAR and lashed out, saying, “I feel cheated out of a chance to compete for a championship”. The disappointment of the 29-year-old Oklahoma native was obvious as he had a solid season and despite not winning a race in the playoffs, he had a great shot at making the final 4. Sympathizing with how the entire span of events turned out, Bianchi said, “It’s just circumstances conspired to keep him out of the playoff and that is unfortunate”. 

With the playoff structure coming under the microscopic lens of NASCAR fans, Bell and Hamlin concurred on the format needing to be tweaked.

Bell and Hamlin call for reform of the playoff structure 

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Revamping the playoff structure and warranting position to the drivers who run solid throughout the season has been a strong opinion this off-season. Specifically, after drivers like Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell did not make it to the Top 4 despite their amazing performance, it led to resonance among fans. Larson won 6 races this season, leading all drivers, and still missed out on a shot at the Bill France Trophy.

Bell had won three races and yet because of a single misery at Martinsville, did not make it to the Championship 4. Adding to the chatter, Bell said, “They said they want the playoff system in place, which is understandable, because it creates a lot of intensity and makes every race important, and I love that piece of it. But maybe adjusting the points system in a way that gets the best cars into the Championship Race would be awesome.”

However, it is not only Bell who is demanding some reforms in the playoff structure. Even Denny Hamlin resonated with Bell’s emotions and demanded a fresh perspective on the playoff structure. He pointed out that drivers who had good regular season performances should be given a better points buffer than other drivers. Hamlin said, “Give the guys that get 30-40 points under this system, the Bells, the Larsons, they deserve to have a really good buffer to make it through the rounds. We’re in a sport where you can get caught up in so many wrecks and things that can happen”. 

However, 2024 champion Joey Logano quipped on the discussion around the playoff format in November, speaking to Dirty Mo Media, he said, “I’m not 100% sure of it but I think this was his [Denny Hamlin] idea, or it was, he was definitely for it.” While Hamlin and Bell demand reform, it seems like Logano is reminding them all that this format was put in place to widespread approval until recent backlash.

The growing chorus from top drivers like Bell and Hamlin underscores the urgent need for NASCAR to strike a balance between playoff drama and rewarding consistent excellence, ensuring the championship truly reflects season-long performance.