Christopher Bell’s NASCAR title hopes ringing loud and clear

If the NASCAR playoffs are stock car racing’s answer to MLB’s postseason, then Christopher Bell’s victory in last week’s race on the hybrid oval-road course in Charlotte, North Carolina, was its version of a walk-off home run.

Needing a victory in the Round of 12 final to stay alive in the championship battle, that’s exactly what Bell got to put himself back in the hunt.

After parlaying a pole-position start in the spring race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway into a top-10 finish, the former sprint car ace from Oklahoma should again be one of the drivers to watch in Sunday’s South Point 400 on the 1.5-mile oval where he and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates usually run strong.

“Hopefully, it’s us,” Bell said about the possibility of he and Denny Hamlin, winner of spring’s Pennzoil 400, assuming leading roles heading into Round of 8 stops at LVMS and Homestead, Florida — both mile-and-a-half tracks — and the Martinsville, Virginia, bullring that will determine the four drivers who will race for the NASCAR championship in Phoenix Nov. 6.

After pitting for fresh tires in the closing laps at Charlotte and then racing to the front thanks to late restarts, Bell has recaptured momentum that was lost during his first two starts in the second round of playoff races.

He led 32 laps and challenged for the win at LVMS in March before being shuffled to 10th at the finish in a race won by Alex Bowman, whose championship chances were ended by a crash and concussion at Texas in late September.

“We won the pole and led the race until we came down pit road (during a late pit stop),” said Bell, a two-time race winner in 2021 (he also won at New Hampshire in July) who has finished eighth or better in six of his past nine starts. “I feel good about (Sunday), and I think we’ll have a shot at it.”

In addition to Toyota drivers Bell and Hamlin, the Round of 8 will include Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and William Byron, Trackhouse Racing upstart Ross Chastain and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe.

Brisco sneaked in as the final Round of 8 qualifier and knocked 2021 series champion Kyle Larson out of title contention with a late pass at Charlotte aided by traffic-blocking teammate Cole Custer.

The starting field will feature only one Busch brother of Las Vegas.

Two-time series champ Kyle Busch was eliminated from title contention during the playoffs’ opening round. He will drive for the last time on his hometown track for car owner Gibbs after recently signing a multiyear deal with Richard Childress Racing.

Older brother Kurt has not raced since backing into the wall and suffering a concussion during a qualifying crash at Pocono, Pennsylvania, in July.

Logano and Hamlin are the only former LVMS winners among the championship-eligible drivers. Logano’s victories came in the 2019 and 2020 spring races, and his 8.9 average finish here leads all drivers.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.