Denny Hamlin wasn’t the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver with something to prove this weekend at the Lady in Black. Teammate Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 Toyota who falls just 25 points below him as the No. 1 seed, has finally clinched a win after a standout performance with his Cook Out Southern 500 win, the series first 2026 postseason race.
The win stands as his only win in 27 races, but his regular-season performance was enough to keep him at the top of the board in the overall standings. There’s a reason Bell made it this far in the playoff fight: his 12 top-fives, 14 top-tens, pole, and average start of 14.815 and finish of 13.889 speak for themselves.
So, when he crossed the finish line at Darlington Raceway Sunday night 1.038 seconds ahead of teammate Ty Gibbs, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone watching in the grandstands. Even so, Bell has been close enough to taste victory lane this year, but has found himself coming up short even though, statistically speaking, he’s been one of the faster cars on the track.
He’s been in the wrong place at the wrong time, finding himself caught up in penalties or incidents, but none of that seemed to matter last night. Once he made the pass past defending race winner Kyle Larson with 18 laps to go in the race’s final stage, there was no stopping him. Breaking a 33-race winless streak that dated back to last season at Bristol was a breakthrough moment for the No. 20 driver.
If there’s something every driver in NASCAR knows, it’s that winning at Darlington matters. Once a driver checks off a win at the track that is often referred to as “Tough, Tough to Tame,” they earn one of the most significant achievements of their careers and join an elite group of Darlington Masters like Dale Earnhardt Sr., Bill Elliott, and Denny Hamlin. It’s also one of the toughest tracks to win at due to its abrasive surface, little margin for error, and tight racing conditions.
Post-race, when speaking to the media, Bell himself referred to winning at Darlington as “The epitome of NASCAR, and Better than a dream come true.” The win meant more than breaking a drought for the JGR driver. It turned his season around and made the difference between staying in the championship fight and putting his team on top as the leader and favorite.
Yet, Bell is well aware that he has his work cut out for him if he plans to fight for the 2026 title, and he knows winning more races is the only answer. Bell was once sixth in the Cup Standings and is now just 1 spot shy of claiming the top spot, and that’s what makes his ability to walk away from Darlington unscathed a statement.
For a driver who battled back from an injured wrist in June and a season plagued by near misses, it also means he’s not backing down from the fight any time soon. Was it fresher tires, a methodically timed pit strategy, or patience that helped him lead the race for 45 laps and ultimately clinch the win? Or could it simply be that his belief in his team helped him tame the rigorous throws of Darlington?
https://youtu.be/LU3gGalKMoU?si=t4RJmOpPimCPZ14E
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