Christopher Bell called for change in the NASCAR Cup Series superspeedway package following last Sunday’s race at Talladega. The driver of the No. 20 was critical of the constant fuel-saving and inability to pass.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver made it clear that he does not want to see another drafting track race like the Cup Series did last week. With all the positive changes Bell touched on that NASCAR has made, he said it is time to fix superspeedway racing.
Bell on NASCAR’s drafting track package: “It’s atrocious”
Despite being frustrated with NASCAR’s drafting track package, Bell spoke highly of other things the sport has done on the competition side.
The Oklahoma native was looking forward to running the higher horsepower package on select tracks this year, and believes it has been a major success.
Now, the 31-year-old wants to see improvements on the superspeedway side and desperately called for a solution.
“We desperately need change. We’ve needed change for a long time, so hopefully, that is the last time we race that speedway package, and I think a lot of us in the industry will be very excited about that,” Bell said.
Bell was asked by FOX Sports reporter Bob Pockrass if drivers needed to control their own destiny more. The 13-time Cup Series winner said that is the case, adding that superspeedway races all come down to fuel-saving.
“It’s literally a lottery race. It’s atrocious. Now, the strategy is so spelled out that it becomes all about fuel saving. We try to adjust the stage lengths so we’re not fuel-saving. Well, you can’t pass, so it becomes all about shortening the last pit stop to as short as you can get it, which means you’re still saving fuel in stage two, even though you can make it to the end after that last stop. It’s a joke. It’s a complete joke and I look forward to changes,” Bell said.
Bell explains how he fell out of the lead at Talladega
In last Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega, Bell led a race-high 31 of 188 laps.
However, he ended up settling for a 17th-place finish. Why did Bell fall out of contention for the win?
As he told reporters on Saturday in Texas, the fuel-saving game worked against Bell late in the race.
“I burned too much fuel. I didn’t have enough fuel. That’s why I went from leading the race to back in the back. The package we have right now, you can’t do anything,” Bell said.
Amid the frustrations of superspeedway racing, Bell is still searching for his first win of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
After 10 races, the JGR star has totaled three top fives, four top 10s, and sits ninth in the points standings.
Bell is in his seventh full-time season of NASCAR Cup Series competition, and his sixth campaign with JGR. He has 13 career victories, all of which have come driving for JGR.
Last year, Bell scored a career-high four wins, including three straight in the early portion of the season. Under the previous playoff format, Bell made two Championship 4 appearances in 2022 and 2023.
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