For the first time in the Gen7 era, a driver has won 3 straight races. Christopher Bell secured his third win of the 2025 season in its fourth race. After only leading 9 laps enroute to his first 2 wins, Bell managed to put on a more impressive display in this win. Leading a race-high 105 laps, the 20 team secured the right strategy to return to victory lane. Bell wins the spring Phoenix race for the second straight season as well, foreshadowing what could be in store for the competition this fall. However, these first 4 races have indicated that Christopher Bell might in the midst of a historic season. Winning 3 straight races is one thing. However, each has come at a very different type. Bell’s early season could be the start of his first truly dominate season in the Cup Series.
Now, Christopher Bell has already established himself as one of the best drivers in the Cup Series. At this point, it is inarguable that his name belongs among the top tiered drivers in the sport. Since 2022, Bell has won multiple races every season. Last year, he eclipsed the 1,000 laps led mark for the first time. Despite going winless through the second half of the year, the 20 car was constantly running upfront and contending for wins. The beginning of 2025 is simply picking up where Bell left off last year. Not only is Bell winning, but he and the 20 team are avoiding the costly mistakes that hurt them in year’s prior.
Christopher Bell Going for 4
Heading into Las Vegas next week, it is difficult to envision another driver being the favorite. Winning the Pennzoil 400 would put Bell in elite company, becoming the first driver since Jimmie Johnson to win 4 straight. Although Bell has yet to grace victory lane in Sin City, the 20 car has been one of the fastest entries at the track in the Gen7 era. Bell has secured half the poles in the 6 starts at Las Vegas in this car. When Bell is not caught up in a wreck, his finishes are strong as well. In Bell’s 4 lead lap finishes, he is averaging a 4.75 result with 248 laps led.
The last two fall races at Las Vegas has seen Christopher Bell barely miss out on securing a win. In both instances, a single lap more would have been the difference between first and second. Kyle Larson managed to hold off Bell on the final lap in 2023 while Joey Logano stretched his fuel enough to sneak one away last year.
Based on how this season is going, Bell looks primed to finally overcome the last lap hurdle. Through his first 3 wins, the execution has been flawless. The main criticism you can fault the 20 team for is their mediocre qualifying. Bell’s average starting position the past 3 weeks has been 20.67. Even if you ignore Atlanta (32nd), qualifying outside the Top-10 is unlike the 20 team. With Las Vegas next, that potentially will set Bell up with his best starting spot of the season. If Bell starts with prime track position, that 20 car could check out early.
Better Tracks Await
While this early winning streak could turn into an outlier, the feeling is that Christopher Bell is only getting started. Where the wins have come so far is something to note. Atlanta has not been a strong point for Bell, despite his improvement on superspeedways. Although Bell has been great at Phoenix and COTA recently, those 2 tracks do not rank at the top of his best list. Bell has rattled off 3 straight wins while waiting for his strongest tracks to arrive on the schedule.
Since Las Vegas has already been touched, looking ahead past next week you see multiple tracks where Bell has good reason to be optimistic. Homestead holds Bell’s best average finish in the Gen7 era (with at least 3 starts) along with his 2023 win. Martinsville has been the host to a Christopher Bell win as well. Meanwhile, Bell has a Top-10 in every Bristol pavement race with an average finish of 5.5. Looking a bit further ahead, Kansas has seen Bell run upfront with great speed. Once the playoffs start, New Hampshire, WWT Raceway, and the ROVAL all stack up well for the 20.
Now, a great past does not always lead to a promising future. This is NASCAR; anything can happen. Look at this Sunday’s race as a prime example. Denny Hamlin almost stole the win from Bell after numerous late race cautions. However, Bell’s history at some of these tracks certainly indicate more wins are coming.
Dominate Season or Early Flurry?
3 straight wins is an impressive feat. Becoming the first driver to pull off the accomplish in this car is noteworthy and should be recognized for that historical moment. Christopher Bell looks well on his way to lapping the field. But, this is feeling a bit familiar. Cast your mind back to last year when a driver looked to be on the verge of dominating the season. William Byron started out of the gates hot last year. After winning the Daytona 500, Byron also managed to pick up wins at COTA and Martinsville. 3 wins in 8 races with the entire season left to go. Coming off a 6-win season the year prior, many wondered how many Byron would accumulate in the remaining 28 races.
Turned out to be zero. After starting the season off hot, Byron failed to find victory lane for the remainder of 2024.
Could Christopher Bell be on path for a similar fate? Once again, NASCAR is a tough sport to predict. If you look at the numbers, it would be difficult to think Bell goes winless in the remaining 32 races. At the same time, stranger things have happened. Remember, the entirety of Joe Gibbs Racing went winless in the final 18 races of 2024. Bell looked to be on the verge of winning multiple races during that stretch until the wrong circumstances unfolded. The same thing could happen this year.
At the moment, it does feel that Bell will avoid that fate though. To be fair, it is hard not to feel that sentiment after the man wins 3 in a row. Objectively, there is little reason to think that Bell will go winless. Rather, the question is whether Bell can exceed the 6-win mark that Byron and Larson have hit. From the looks of it, the answer is yes.
An Unrewarded Season
If Christopher Bell does go on to win more than 6 times this season, this season should be considered a massive success. No matter what the final standings show after the next Phoenix race, winning 7 or more times in the Gen7 car is an impressive accomplishment. Especially if Bell manages to do so in the same way he won COTA and Phoenix, that would be a testament to the 20 team.
All of the preamble prefaces the looming foreshadowing that a potentially historic season likely will end without a championship. Since the elimination style playoffs have been implemented, only 3 drivers have won the championship while winning the most races. Since Martin Truex Jr did it in 2017, only Kyle Larson in 2021 has accomplished it. In fact, the driver with the most wins has failed to make the Championship Four in 4 times. This includes last year when Larson failed to make it.
Whether you enjoy the playoff format or not, the simple fact is that is does not reward dominant seasons. Sure, winning a lot throughout the season has benefits to help a driver’s chances. Yet, those benefits vanish as soon the Martinsville elimination race ends. The winner-take-all race rewards the best driver in that Phoenix championship race. Although Christopher Bell has been tremendous in the desert, Team Penske is undefeated in this car. Applaud Bell for his potentially superb season, but do not expect it to lead to a championship.
