“They have set the bar”: Christopher Bell reacts to Shane van Gisbergen dominating Charlotte ROVAL by an exponential margin

Christopher Bell thinks that former Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen is hands down a master of road courses. The Auckland native, who is currently in his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series, won Sunday’s playoff race at the iconic Charlotte ROVAL, marking his fifth victory of the season, sixth overall, and fifth straight on a road course.

Bell finished the race third, behind runner-up Kyle Larson, who crossed the finish line a whopping 15.160 seconds after Gisbergen. Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell rounded out the remaining top five spots. The Round of 12 is over, and the field is now set for the Round of 8.

“It is that (Shane van Gisbergen) car was what 30 seconds ahead of us,” Christopher Bell told NBC Sports after the race. “Congratulations to Shane and that Trackhouse team. They have set the bar, and we are all clearly having a hard time getting up to it.”

Bell, who sits fifth in the playoff standings, was one of Gisbergen’s closest challengers at Charlotte. He opted to pit with 10 laps to go, thinking that fresher tires would give him an edge over the Trackhouse Racing newcomer. But it didn’t. Gisbergen stayed out with older tires and still managed to take the top spot.

But Gisbergen is not in the playoff picture anymore. He can simply contend for wins over the next few weeks, leading to the championship race at Phoenix. Christopher Bell, on the other hand, has a shot at his maiden Cup Series championship. And so does his teammate, Denny Hamlin, who is currently the longest-tenured driver in the series without a championship.

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“The whole accumulation of the Toyota group epically failed”- Christopher Bell weighs in on last week’s incident between his JGR teammate and 23XI’s Bubba Wallace

Christopher Bell was asked what he would have done differently if it were him instead of Bubba Wallace last week at Kansas. Tempers flared between fellow Toyota drivers Wallace and Denny Hamlin as the duo battled for the win. The last restart set Wallace on the lead lap, but Hamlin, through an aggressive swerve to Wallace’s inside, pushed his #23 car against the fence.

Reflecting on the incident, Bell said he would have liked to at least stay side by side with Hamlin until the start-finish line. After all, what Hamlin did seemed to have taken a toll on the Toyota group.

“Clearly, taking one driver out of it, the whole accumulation of the Toyota group epically failed at Kansas,” Christopher Bell explained (1:25). “So yeah, just line five of them up in a row coming to a green wire checkered, and none of them win. That’s not it’s not very well executed.”

That being said, Hamlin and Wallace have talked things out already. The drivers are now laser-focused on their upcoming race, the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Scheduled for Sunday, October 12, fans can watch the 267-lap event on USA (5:30 pm ET onwards) or listen to its live radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.