“100%, the absolute favorite”: Christopher Bell backed by NASCAR Insider to win Cup championship in 2024

NASCAR journalist Alex Cavanna recently shared his take on Christopher Bell being a championship favorite this season. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who has won thrice already this season, was part of the final 4 in the last two seasons.

And if Bell makes it to the final 4 this year as well, Cavanna claimed he could leave everyone behind on his way to his maiden Cup championship. Speaking on GoPRNLive, the NASCAR journalist responded with Bell's name when asked if there's a driver everyone is overlooking as a championship favorite.

And to support his take, Cavanna pointed to the Bell's first win of the season:

"Christopher Bell has been the championship favorite ever since we went to that first Phoenix race. Christopher Bell and Adam Stevens went to Phoenix, the site of the championship race and won by about 6 seconds. Think about that in the Next Gen era. They put 6 seconds on the field at the track where you win the championship. They told the entire field, 'Go find me 6 seconds in the next 8 months. I dare you to do it.' If Christopher Bell and the #20 car get to Phoenix, they're 100% the absolute favorite to win the championship and I think they've been it ever since we went there earlier this year," Cavanna said. [5:05]

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Denny Hamlin feels Christopher Bell will be "a threat" in final 4 this year

Speaking after the race at Gateway earlier this season, Christopher Bell's teammate Denny Hamlin spoke about the #20 driver's 7th place finish. Hamlin further spoke about Bell's chances of being a championship contender:

"When I saw he finished seventh, I was like ‘Oh wow.' He limped it home, but I think the field was so spread out that moment. This is the second track in a row these mile flat tracks where [Bell] has really shown a lot of speed. If he can make it to Phoenix, he’s gonna be a threat," Hamlin said on Actions Detrimental.

So far this season, Bell has 3 wins, 4 top 5 finishes, and 5 finishes inside the top 10. Out of all seasons in his Cup career which began in 2020, the current season so far has been the best for Bell, with him having won one race at this point of the year in each of the last two seasons where he made it to Phoenix.

Having said that, Bell went through a series of underwhelming results after his win at New Hampshire. He finished with back-to-back DNFs at Nashville and Chicago, followed by a finish outside the top 10 at Pocono.

However, Bell returned to form before the Olympics break as he recorded a top 5 finish at the Brickyard 400.