By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service
LAS VEGAS – As the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Round of 8 begins with Sunday’s South Point 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, drivers insist there is still no absolute championship “favorite.”
However, one driver that no one would be surprised to see advance to the Championship 4 for a shot at the big trophy is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell – the only driver who has advanced to the title round the last three seasons.
“I got asked the question last week, like who’s the guy, and I mentioned four or five people without mentioning Christopher (Bell), and like, he’s so good; sneaky., like very sneaky, quiet, good. I mean that’s his personality, too. Just quiet,’’ championship leader, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson said.
“He’s not out talking about how good he’s doing; he’s just doing it. Him and his team are super strong. Yeah, I think they’ve been doing a great job over the last three years, or whatever it’s been.
“I’ve raced with Christopher for so long, so I know how good he is. He is just a quiet, just a smooth, person. smooth racer. Yeah, for whatever reason, he’s flown under the radar his whole NASCAR career, I feel like.”
Bell said he genuinely doesn’t care how much people are talking about him or even if they regard him as a favorite. The 29-year old Oklahoman remains confident and optimistic about his chances to hoist his first NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy. And he’s scored top-10 finishes in the last four Playoff races entering the weekend – his last win coming at the Charlotte oval, New Hampshire and …. Phoenix Raceway, where the championship will be decided on Nov. 10.
“I’ve won three races and 10 stages, so I feel we are every bit as capable as anyone,’’ said Bell, driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota, adding, “I love our chances.
“I just think the way these Playoffs have gone, and the points position we’re in, we’ve been in a conservative mode of just collecting the points that have been given us and moving on. But looking at the regular season, we accumulated the second-most bonus points and put ourselves in a really good spot and Phoenix is probably our best track on the schedule. So if we can make it there, I feel really confident that we’ll have a good shot at it, at least.”
Hamlin Goals
Bell’s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at NASCAR – Motorsports Tribune…