Christopher Bell entered the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series with high expectations after a string of victories, but the season has unfolded as a study in near‑misses.
The pit‑stop paradox
Bell has finished second in all seven races he has completed, a streak that includes a 0.399‑second loss at Phoenix and a 0.068‑second margin at Atlanta, while also leading laps in six of those events.
The root of the frustration lies in pit‑stop strategy; a mis‑timed stop at Pocono left him out of fuel with two laps remaining, dropping him from fourth to 26th, and similar errors at Kansas and Atlanta dropped him to 20th and 21st respectively.
Despite the setbacks, Bell sits sixth in the points standings and will be one of the eight drivers entering the Chase, but he remains the only top‑eight competitor without a victory this year.
The anomaly is highlighted by a record tie: Bell’s seven runner‑up finishes match Harry Gant’s 1981 tally for the most second‑place finishes without a win, a mark that underscores the rarity of his situation.
Other contenders such as Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric share a similar winless plight, while veterans like Kevin Harvick once turned a comparable slump into three victories in 2015.
Looking ahead, Bell will attempt to break the trend at the upcoming tracks — New Hampshire, Bristol, Charlotte Roval, Phoenix, Martinsville and Homestead — where he has historically found victory.