Christopher Bell shares his take on playoff format for delivering “well-deserving” NASCAR championship contenders

Christopher Bell believes the final four drivers are 'legitimate contenders' who've had 'championship seasons' this year. Moreover, following his elimination at Martinsville Speedway, Bell admitted that his No.20 team 'wasn't good enough' to advance.

During Sunday's Xfinity 500, the title shot came down to polesitter William Byron and Ryan Blaney, who traded leads on the final stages. Byron ultimately triumphed with a 304-lap lead, a career best for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

The result meant that Team Penske will be out of the championship race for the first time in the Next Gen Era. Kyle Larson's fifth-place finish helped him overcome Bell in seventh. Notably, seven points was the difference that separated the two drivers.

Despite the outcome, Bell shared an optimistic take in a post-race interview with NBC Sports.

"I feel content with the results. I think the four going there are legitimate contenders. Whoever the champion is, it’s going to be well-deserved. The 20 team wasn’t good enough. This year, there’s four great drivers. All have had championship seasons. Whoever the champion is, it’s going to be well-deserving. I think the format worked out this year,” Christopher Bell said.

In line with his comments, all four championship drivers are multi-race winners. Denny Hamlin is the winningest of them all with six wins to his name, while William Byron, Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson have three wins each.

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Christopher Bell's crew chief shares frustrations with 'tough' playoff format

Christopher Bell's crew chief, Adam Stevens, recently shared a critical take on the playoff format. Ahead of the Martinsville race, Stevens noted that the current system has a lot that can go wrong. Bell is no stranger to the fact, as he's been on the final four twice already, but the title has continued to elude him.

"This playoff format is so tough," Stevens said in an interview with Kelly Crandall, "there are many opportunities for things not to go your way, as we've seen with the #9 this round and with Talladega in general for a few cars."

"To navigate that, run that gauntlet, and come out on the other side is tough,” he continued. “It takes a lot of well-prepared cars for one, it takes a lot of execution on the team's side, and it takes a lot of fortitude... It's not easy; it's fun to do, but it's tough,” he added.

Christopher Bell began the year with a dominant run of three consecutive wins at COTA, Atlanta, and Phoenix. He later faded as the season went on, but regained his form in the playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The 30-year-old won the 500-lap event and made it a clean sweep for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Round of 16.

Since then, Bell has been on the podium thrice, but is now looking at yet another year without a title shot. That said, NASCAR chief Steve O'Donnell previously shared that Bell advocated against the single-race title decider.