Christopher Bell has been one of the most consistent drivers in NASCAR’s playoffs this season, and now gets to start the next round close to home. None of the playoff contenders won any of the three races that opened this postseason, a first for any round since the current format for determining the Cup champion began in 2014. But Bell was the only driver that finished in the top five each of those weeks, while Denny Hamlin, his teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, was a runner-up twice before a ninth-place finish.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) Christopher Bell has been one of the most consistent drivers in NASCAR’s playoffs this season, and now gets to start the next round close to home. None of the playoff contenders won any of the three races that opened this postseason, a first for any round since the current format for determining the Cup champion began in 2014.