“We still have to dot our I’s”: Defending winner Christopher Bell cautiously optimistic ahead of NASCAR elimination race at Charlotte

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell heads to the Charlotte Roval as the defending winner, hoping for a solid weekend to secure his spot in the Round of 8 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

After salvaging a top-15 finish at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend, Bell currently sits fourth in the playoff standings, 22 markers above the cutline. Despite having a points cushion, the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver will not be letting his guard down anytime in the 109-lap race this Sunday, October 8.

“If you have a catastrophic issue — or not even catastrophic, but just an issue — earlier in the day that puts you a lap down or something, you’re in big trouble,” Bell said in an interview with The Charlotte Observer. “While we are in a really good spot and I’m thankful for that, we still have to dot our I’s and cross our T’s.”

The road course race at Charlotte Motor Speedway will also see the return of stage breaks, as NASCAR decided to bin the idea of running green for the entire race.

Bank of America Roval 400 2022 winner

In last year's race at the Roval, Christopher Bell delivered a much-needed win to advance into the next round. Although he was not the quickest driver on the track and ran top-10 for much of the race, the #20 JGR team made the right decision with late-race caution that put Bell in victory lane.

However, he isn't fond of yellow flags as it disrupts the strategies across the field.

“As a competitor, I don’t like the yellow flags, because it really creates two different races inside the race,” Bell added. “It’s the same for everyone, so you can’t say it’s unfair, but it does lend itself to make it very difficult to get stage points and have the track position to win the race at the end of it.”

Catch Christopher Bell live in action in the Bank of America Roval 400 this Sunday, October 8 at 2 pm ET.

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Oklahoma native Christopher Bell admits NASCAR was never on his radar

Former Truck Series champion Christopher Bell recently admitted that NASCAR was not on his radar when he was a kid. Growing up in Norman, Oklahoma, he revealed he had never aspired to be a NASCAR driver. Being surrounded by dirt tracks, all he aimed for as a kid was to be a professional racer.

The 28-year-old made the revelation in a recent interview with Bob Pockrass, where he said:

“I never, never in my life, did I have NASCAR on my radar. Just growing up from Oklahoma, there literally is no NASCAR. To my knowledge, there’s not another Oklahoma NASCAR guy. So I never thought it was a possibility.”

He added:

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be in the Cup Series. I always aimed to be a professional racer, and dirt racing was the most logical answer because that’s what we have in Oklahoma, that’s what I grew up doing.”

Christopher Bell added that he was fortunate enough to be picked up by Toyota, who gave him his first opportunity to race on asphalt, instead of dirt.