"It rewards running well": Christopher Bell defends NASCAR's 'really cool' points system while trailing William Byron

Christopher Bell has addressed the fact that he's not leading the points in NASCAR standings. Despite already having three back-to-back wins to his name, he is trailing Daytona 500 winner William Byron by 13 points on the table.

Ahead of this Sunday's Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bell was asked in a media availability session whether he finds it weird that he's not leading the points. He said:

"I genuinely think that the points format is really cool the way that it is because it rewards running well throughout the entire race. I’ve gotten great finishes and won the races, but at Atlanta, I led one lap, and at COTA, I led nine laps.

The car that I’m racing – William Bryon – has scored more stage points than me. I’m content with the point system and understand the reason why I’m not leading the points is because I haven’t scored stage points." [02:30]

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver remained hopeful that his points situation will "sort itself out" once they have more races in the regular season. He said that "the cream will rise to the top" and the drivers who score the most points will be the ones running up front.

This prompted a reporter to ask Christopher Bell whether leading in points is "another carrot" for him to chase. Bell said that after race 26, winning the regular season championship is a goal the #20 team has had for the last two years, one they've fallen short of.

"A really big advantage once you get into the postseason, so I’m not really concerned with leading the points right now, but definitely once we get to race 24, 25, 26 – at the end of the regular season – that is a huge carrot to chase, and I will be chasing it," he added.

Bell emphasized that for him winning the regular season title is "definitely a goal" and that 15 points are "a big deal."

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Christopher Bell has big goals for his 2025 season after not living upto his own standards lately

Following his second win of the season which came at Atlanta, Christopher Bell spoke about not living upto his own standards in the last few seasons. He finished the 2024 season with three wins, the 2023 season with two, and the one before it with three.

"I’m excited about what’s to come. We have high expectations and high hopes and goals for this year. Frankly, the last couple of years being at Joe Gibbs Racing in this #20 car, I haven’t been living up to the standards that I hold for myself," Christopher Bell said.

This year, the JGR driver has already got three wins, as many as he did in the entirety of the 2022 and 2024 seasons.