Stuck Between a Veteran & a Champ, Can Joe Gibbs? 28-YO Dejected Star Cement Himself as a Championship Threat?

Winning a race in the NASCAR Cup Series is like catching a fish with bare hands straight out of a pond. It’s as slippery as it can get. You could have the fastest car, the most experienced crew, and ingenious pit strategies, and still fail to bag that elusive win. Things are somewhat the same for Joe Gibbs‘ youngest prodigy, Christopher Bell. Imagine shouldering the burden of a 25-race-long winless streak, despite multiple appearances in front of the sky-blue podium as the pole sitter!

Adding on to his misery, the Cup Series playoff contention is a madhouse in itself, where even teammates can’t afford to spare an inch for each other. When the reward is a spot in the coveted Championship 4 race, a little help here and there is okay, but going easy is just not an option for anyone. On that note, Joe Gibbs Racing has the highest number of cars in this year’s round of 8, which is both a bane and a boon for the Oklahoma native.

Bell is sandwiched between a racing ‘villain’ and a former champion

Driving for almost two decades for Joe Gibbs, Denny Hamlin has amassed numerous wins at various NASCAR tracks. The 7-time Pocono winner has valorous triumphs in the Coca-Cola 600, Daytona 500 as well as the crown-jewel race of the Southern 500.

And yet, he lacks the one thing that his teammate Martin Truex Jr has to his credit. Even drivers like Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, who are significantly younger than Denny Hamlin, flaunt that one cherished achievement that the 23XI co-owner craves:?A championship title in the Cup Series.

However, it is needless to say that the #11 speedster will do anything and everything he can to win his first championship in 2023, even if it means holding off his own teammates. Definitely something for Christopher Bell to frown at.

On the other hand, Martin Truex Jr. is the 2017 Monster Energy Cup Series champion. Moreover, come Las Vegas, Truex had 8 top-10 finishes in his 9 starts with JGR, three of which are top-5s, including a win in 2019.

Let’s consider Martinsville Speedway. It is true that Bell advanced into the Championship 4 race last year after securing a win at the speedway, but it is also that Truex has had 3 wins at the half-mile racetrack over the course of his career. But Bell’s performance this year has also been promising, if not the best! Now, it remains to be how well he fares in the Round of 8.

It must be frustrating for Bell to have won the poles for all three races of the opening round and yet fall short of winning. The number 20 team sure knows how to qualify, but somehow, they always end up not getting the win that they deserve.

Watch this story: Denny Hamlin Signs New Contract with Joe Gibbs Racing Amid His Career Woes

It goes without saying that he will pull every trick up his sleeves and bring out his absolute best at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But what are the odds?

Christopher Bell could dominate at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

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Bell sits 6th in the driver standings, just 2 points above the cutline. It’s weird how Denny Hamlin poses a two-fold threat to Bell. On one hand, his star driver Tyler Reddick, who has 3 top-10s at Las Vegas with his previous team, will perhaps capitalize on every restart to take down his opponents, and on the other hand, the man Denny Hamlin himself will try his best to seize a win and with that, a spot in the Grand Finale.

However, Bell is not someone who would back down so easily. The young Toyota icon has 3 top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which includes a P5 finisher earlier this year in March. Moreover, with the speed that he has been showing this year, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think of him as a major threat to everyone on the grid.

According to racer.com, Bell said, “Now is the time that we do see what we?ve got whenever we turn it up to 100%.”

“The Round of 8, whether you?re at Las Vegas, Homestead or Martinsville, you?re going to have to perform at 100% all the time, and we?re going to see where we stack up,” he added.

Amidst the Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing showdown, don’t you think there lies another battle behind the garage of Joe Gibbs Racing as three of its best drivers will give it their all to make their way into the final race? Let us know what you think!

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