Christopher Bell reveals main reasons behind New Hampshire dominance following first career sweep

Christopher Bell followed up his Xfinity Series victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday by winning the Cup Series USA Today 301 on Sunday. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver won for the fourth straight year at the "Magic Mile" and recorded his third Cup win of the season.

The Sci Aps 200 witnessed the Oklahoma native making a risky three-wide, last-lap pass, holding off Sheldon Creed and reigning Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer to the finish line. In the Cup race, Bell grabbed the lead on lap 242 and defended his position throughout five chaotic restarts, en route to the ninth Cup win of his career.

Reflecting on the 29-year-old racer's performance at the 1.058-mile racetrack in Loudon, New Hampshire, former Cup Series driver and current FOX analyst Kevin Harvick was curious about the secret behind Christopher Bell's weekend sweep. Bell said it all came down to proper setup and good equipment.

"For whatever reason, every time I go there, my cars are just really good," Bell explained (1:00). "You know as well as I do; if your car is good, it makes it so much easier. If your car is not good, it's not gonna happen. It has just been a really strong track for Joe Gibbs Racing."

Bell opined that his earlier stint as the number 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Truck driver has also helped him gain his current momentum at NHMS. Bell clinched the 2017 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship for the organization.

"We were able to go and do a rookie test before I ran my first race there," he recalled. "Whenever you have those opportunities to go to the test, you just get a bunch of laps and it kinda gave me a rhythm around that place and the cars that I have driven have always done what I needed them to do. I think it's all about having the right set-up and great equipment."

Currently, Christopher Bell sits sixth on the NASCAR Cup Series point standings with 555 points to his credit. He has led 451 laps, recording six top-5s, 11 top-10s, and seven stage wins this year.

Christopher Bell calls the Next Gen car "home"

According to Christopher Bell, driving an Xfinity car felt somewhat foreign to him, just like it once used to for Cup cars, especially when the NextGen prototype first came out in 2022.

Speaking of his Xfinity Series experience from Saturday, Bell said in the previous interview:

"It was wild. Like in 2021, whenever we had the normal Cup car and then going to the NextGen car, the NextGen car was completely foreign. It felt so weird sitting in the car and everything felt different. Well now, fast forward two years, the NextGen car feels like home and then I get back in the Xfinity car and it feels foreign."

As far as their structural design is concerned, the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series cars are quite different. However, perhaps the biggest difference from a driver's point of view is the position of the gear shaft.

"The shifter is way off to your right. I felt like I was right against the left side door and obviously the way that they drive is completely different. Honestly felt like I was driving a dirt car," Bell added.

Christopher Bell will be seen in action next in the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. The 300-lap event will take place on June 30, 3:30 p.m. ET, and will stream live on NBC Sports and Peacock with radio updates on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio.