“I would be concerned”: Christopher Bell ‘nervous’ about NASCAR’s possible format change

Upon arriving at Talladega Superspeedway for this week’s Cup Series playoff race, Christopher Bell was asked what he thought would happen if NASCAR were to change the current playoffs format. Bell answered the question and explained why the current scenario works for him.

Bell’s comments surfaced through a post by renowned NASCAR journalist Claire B. Lang on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver didn’t say that he hates the thought of a revised playoff format.

All he wanted to avoid was a system in which all 36 cars are made eligible to compete for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship title. Expressing his concern, the Oklahoma native said,

"Well, I think that's a very slippery slope. And that would concern me. What we don't want is - we don't want to go to Daytona and crown a champion with 36 race cars eligible for it. I think that there's a really fine line between - I just think that's a slippery slope, and I don't know how else to say it.”

Safe to say that the current playoff format gives too much importance to the Championship 4 race, while any other format could ease things up a bit. But it could also take away from the competitive aspect of the sport and clutter the field.

“I would be concerned about changes that compress the field even more than what we have. Yeah, I don't know. That's tough. It makes me nervous hearing that, though,” Bell further added.

Christopher Bell will focus on winning this Sunday’s race, which will get him an automatic entry into the Championship picture. Named YellaWood 500, the 188-lap event will be held at Talladega Superspeedway. Fans can watch the race on Peacock or listen to its live coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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When Christopher Bell dedicated his Bristol after the death of a political figure

Christopher Bell has 13 victories at the Cup level, the latest of which came at Bristol Motor Speedway in September. It also marked his fourth win this season and first at the 0.533-mile (0.858 km) concrete oval, short track in Bristol, Tennessee.

Bell dedicated his win to American right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead in Utah earlier that week. Remembering Kirk during his post-race interview, the former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion said,

“It wasn’t pretty there at the end, but we got her done. Most importantly, this week’s obviously been a very tough week. You know, there’s a lot on our minds. This one's for Charlie.”

Fast forward to today, and 33 races into the season, Christopher Bell has amassed four wins, 13 top fives, and 20 top-10s besides 282 laps led and an average finish of 11.424. Currently, he sits third in the driver standings with a 20-point cushion on the playoff cutoff line.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua