Christopher Bell outpaces Hendrick Motorsports rival for a potential NASCAR title in the traditional format

While Joey Logano took the Cup Series title, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell also achieved a feat of sorts. Bell held off Hendrick Motorsports drivers Chase Elliott and William Byron to finish on top in NASCAR's previous championship format.

According to the previous Winston Cup format, the driver who claimed most points throughout all 36 races became the champion. The format is similar to Formula 1's current system, which does not resort to playoffs.

Notably, the Winston Cup Series championship is an unofficial title run by an X page, and it follows all the current drivers and their point hauls during the season. Bell claimed 4823 points and was ahead of Elliott by five points.

Elliott claimed 4818 points, whereas his teammate finished second runners-up with 4746 points. Interestingly, 2024 Cup Series champion Joey Logano finished the Unofficial Winston competition in 11th place. He failed to enter the top 10 by 119 points from Denny Hamlin.

This also means he was behind by 592 points from winner Christopher Bell in the overall standings. Regular season champion Tyler Reddick finished in fourth place, ahead of the six-time Cup race winner of this season, Kyle Larson.

Cup Series runners-up Ryan Blaney came home in sixth, ahead of Chris Buescher in seventh. Alex Bowman and Brad Keselowski finished in eighth and ninth places, respectively.

---

Playoffs saved Joey Logano against Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott

Cup Series driver Joey Logano (right) is presented the Bill France Trophy - Source: Imagn

Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell and Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott were two of the most consistent Cup Series drivers of this season. The JGR driver picked three wins this season, three pole positions, 15 top 5s, and 23 Top 10s, with an average finish position of 12.8.

On the other hand, Elliott's statistics boasted 11 Top 5s, 23 Top 10s, and an average finish position of 11.7. Furthermore, HMS Kyle Larson was another notable driver who reigned supreme throughout 2024.

Compared to them, Joey Logano's statistics look inferior. The Team Penske driver registered seven Top 5s and 13 Top 10s and had 17.1 as his average finish position.

However, he was still able to claim the 2024 Cup Series championship with four victories at Phoenix on Sunday. With this, he took his championship count to three after he won his first two in 2018 and 2022.