“I fell asleep like 95% of the race”: NASCAR nation calls out Phoenix Raceway hosting the Championship race amid Christopher Bell’s hattrick of wins 

Christopher Bell secured his third straight NASCAR Cup Series victory at Phoenix Raceway, edging out Denny Hamlin in a dramatic two-lap shootout. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver won by just 0.049 seconds, the second-closest finish in the track’s history. Despite the thrilling conclusion, many fans were left unimpressed with the race, criticizing Phoenix Raceway as a boring venue for the championship event.

Driving the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, Bell won his 12th career Cup Series win. His win at Phoenix followed back-to-back ones at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Circuit of the Americas, making him the first driver in the Next Gen era to achieve a three-race winning streak.

NASCAR shared Christopher Bell's achievement via their official X account with the caption:

"Thrice as nice! @CBellRacing wins his third race in a row!"

Fans took this as an opportunity to express their frustration, with some calling the race dull and uneventful. Many questioned why Phoenix continues hosting the championship race, while others voiced disappointment in the overall spectacle.

"I fell asleep like 95% of the race. Phoenix shouldn’t be the championship race," one fan wrote.

"What a waste of another great Sunday. ☹️" another lamented.

"Phoenix sucks imo idk how it’s the championship race," read another comment.

"Good finish, but why is Phoenix the championship race?" a fan questioned.

"Three in a row WOW," one fan cheered.

"Dirt Late Models don’t race Toyota motors… just saying. (Come on over—much better racing.)," a user remarked.

Holding off his teammate Hamlin and former three-peat winner Kyle Larson, Bell booked the race to his name. The race had 10 cautions over 70 laps and 15 lead changes. William Byron won the first stage, while Ryan Preece won the second.

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Christopher Bell Cements His Name Among NASCAR Legends

Christopher Bell arrived at Phoenix Raceway knowing he had a chance to make history. After consecutive wins at Circuit of the Americas and Atlanta, he has become the first driver since Kyle Larson in 2021 to win three straight Cup Series races. His previous performance at Phoenix was a strong preview of how he did in Sunday's race, as he won last year’s spring race and finished fifth in the 2024 championship race.

Before the race, NASCAR Insider Peter Stratta talked about Bell’s opportunity to join an elite group of drivers in the modern era (1972-present) with a three-race win streak.

"@CBellRacing [Christopher Bell] is going for a 3rd-straight #NASCAR Cup Series win Sunday from @phoenixraceway, a race he dominated last year," Stratta wrote.

Bell’s performance placed him among NASCAR’s greatest, as only 17 drivers in the modern era have pulled this off. The list includes drivers like Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Brad Keselowski. Kyle Larson, the last to win three straight, did it twice in 2021 before winning the Cup Series championship.

After his victory, Bell was ecstatic about the achievement. He told FS1’s Regan Smith:

"How about that one, race fans? Oh, my gosh, man. Whenever you’re sitting there dreaming it up, that’s about as ugly as it gets. You put the (softer) tires on, you’re like, ‘All right, what I don’t want to happen is go 20, 30 laps, get a yellow...’ That happened. Then we went 10 more laps, had another yellow. It was all about who could get clear on the restart. Neither of us could. We were racing really, really hard there coming to the line. JGR ran 1-2, how about that?"

Christopher Bell’s next challenge awaits at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is scheduled for Sunday, March 16.