JGR's Bell Hopeful Ahead of Richmond: ‘We’re In The Mix’

Christopher Bell (Peter Casey/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

By Thomas Hughes, SWN Staff Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (August 14, 2026) — Christopher Bell lets the sting of a second-place finish linger … for a day. Then, he moves on.

It is not that Bell does not care about winning. It’s quite the opposite, in fact. But after seven runner-up finishes through the first 23 races of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has had plenty of instances to remind himself that second place is still a pretty darn good result.

“It really feels like a kick to the gut, but then whenever Monday, Tuesday rolls around, you're like, yeah, it was a pretty darn good day,” Bell said Friday at Richmond Raceway ahead of Saturday’s Cook Out 400.

That ability to move on has become particularly important under NASCAR's new championship format, one that places considerably more emphasis on accumulating points throughout the season rather than simply getting to victory lane.

Gone is the day of win-and-you’re-in. Now, it’s about consistency and rolling over strong finishes from week-to-week.

“Ultimately, the results that we’ve gotten have meant a lot more this year than what they have in my entire Cup career with the format change,” Bell said. “So yeah, it’s been nice to stack some good results together, and we’re performing really well right now, so I certainly feel like we’re in the mix.”

Bell's seven second-place finishes are tied with Harry Gant's 1981 record for the most runner-up finishes in a season without a victory. His latest came last weekend at Iowa Speedway, where Ty Gibbs held off his JGR teammate after a late two-tire pit strategy. Bell is undeterred, though.

“These results, they mean more today and this year than they have for the previous format — my entire Cup career and NASCAR career, for that matter,” Bell said. “I think that [win-or-bust] mentality is still engraved in at least my mind and probably most of the industry’s mind. But in all reality, it's not win-or-bust anymore. It's [that] you have to have good, consistent, strong runs every single week. That’s what we’re doing.”

The championship math does not mean bad finishes have become irrelevant. Bell enters Richmond sixth in the Cup Series standings, just four points behind teammate Chase Briscoe and only 30 points ahead of Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson in 10th, though his Iowa runner-up vaulted him four positions in the standings.

Under the previous playoff system, Bell noted, the incentive structure could be much more extreme.

Drivers outside the playoff picture could feel compelled to make aggressive moves because a runner-up finish and a poor finish could ultimately have similar consequences if they failed to win their way into the postseason.

“Now in this new format, you have to be really calculated,” Bell said. “You have to be really smart and understand the consequences of doing the stuff that we’ve seen in the past. … Every single stage, every race matters.”

For Bell, Iowa was an example of that balance. He was thinking about the win rather than settling for yet another second-place finish. Trying to force the issue against teammate Ty Gibbs could have put both cars at risk, in Bell’s eyes.

“I wasn't sitting here thinking about [runner-up]. You know, I was trying [to do] everything that I could to win,” Bell said. “So yeah, it wasn't running second was not on my brain or my agenda for sure. I can promise you that.”

That distinction is important. Bell is not satisfied with second. He simply understands that, under the current format, second place is far more valuable than it once was, and that’s once again put him in contention for a title.

Bell has finished inside the top five in the final Cup Series standings in each of the past four seasons, establishing himself as one of the series' most consistent championship contenders.

Bell has been particularly strong at Richmond throughout his Cup career. He has finished in the top five four times at Richmond, including a runner-up finish in 2022, while he finished sixth in both of the 2024 races. He also led 122 laps in the August 2024 event.

Since 2023, Bell has finished inside the top 10 in three of his five Richmond starts.

“This has kind of been one that’s made me nervous for a number of years,” Bell said. “I’ve been really strong here. Looked like I was in position to win several of them, and just yeah, just haven’t happened yet.”

But Bell isn’t ready to declare himself the Cup Series title favorite. Despite JGR's recent success at short tracks — Gibbs won at Iowa last weekend, his second short-track victory of the 2026 season — Bell believes his team's greatest strength right now may actually be on faster, downforce-heavy tracks.

“I think that we’re competitive [at short tracks],” Bell said. “But honestly, our strength right now, I would say, are the downforce tracks. Like I feel more confident that we’re going to be the best cars going to intermediates, going to the faster tracks.”

Bell specifically pointed to the strength of Team Penske at those tracks and said the field is extremely tight, leaving him confident that JGR can contend without necessarily viewing the No. 20 as the clear-cut favorite.

“I think the field's really tight at Richmond and Loudon, so my confidence is not as high at these tracks as it is at some of our bigger strengths on the schedule,” Bell said.

Under NASCAR's current format, Bell does not necessarily need a victory to happen this weekend to consider Richmond a success. A win would obviously be preferable.

But another strong finish would keep adding to the body of work that has already placed him sixth in the standings and within striking distance of the championship lead.

“We're performing really well right now,” Bell said.

For Bell, that may be enough to take the sting out of another second-place finish — at least by Monday, if it happens this weekend.

Broadcast coverage of Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 from Richmond Raceway is slated for 7 p.m. ET, live on USA, HBO Max, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.