Christopher Bell in Another Must Win at Martinsville
Lost in all of the drama surrounding the incident at Las Vegas between Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson was the damage done to Bell. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was the only innocent victim in that accident, which put him in a serious hole in terms of the playoffs. They didn't deserve to finish 34th that day, but they had another opportunity last weekend in Miami.
An 11th place finish at Homestead did not salvage what happened at Vegas, but they knew where they stood when the checkered flag waved. It is another must-win scenario for this team at Martinsville, a place they know very well. These same circumstances played out in the prior round when Bell needed a win on the Charlotte Roval to advance. With a little bit of good fortune, Bell delivered with a win.
Coming in to Martinsville, Bell sits 33 points below the cutline. Stage points will be everything tomorrow, but those will be difficult to come by for the driver of the No. 20 Toyota, after a hiccup in qualifying has him starting 20th tomorrow.
Passing proved to be extremely difficult in the spring race earlier this year, and that may be the case again tomorrow. Bell started 7th in that race but finished 20th. His Martinsville numbers don't jump off the page at all, with just one finish inside the top 14 (7th) in his five starts here. He has never led a lap here either, which is something that must change tomorrow if he has any hope of reaching the championship four.
The odds are definitely not in Bell's favor. The winner at Martinsville has started inside the top-ten in 12 of the last 14 races. Bell is in a difficult spot, but at least the team knows where they stand. They don't have to worry about finding stage points or working any type of strategy for the stages. They can simply focus on positioning themselves for the race win, which is something that worked once already.
Oddly enough, that race win came in the same DeWALT paint scheme that the team is running this weekend. They are hoping that a little déjà vu will have them battling for a championship next weekend in Phoenix.
