Christopher Bell: “Champions of Today Are Not Viewed the Same as Champions in the Past”

What’s Happening?

NASCAR Cup Series star Christopher Bell lobbied for a full-season NASCAR Cup Series points system during a recent interview, saying he thinks, “the champions of today are not viewed the same as the champions in the past.”

While the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs kick off this weekend, the format, introduced in 2014, is still facing hefty scrutiny from those across the sport, including fans, Hall of Famers, and even playoff drivers.

While it seems unlikely that NASCAR will move away from the current playoff format, the sport has created a playoff committee of industry stakeholders to discuss and review certain aspects of the current format. Of those known committee members, a topic often discussed is adding more races to crown a champion, shifting away from the single race format used, and expanding to three races or more.

During a recent interview with Jordan Bianchi and NASCAR playoff committee member Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, a member of this committee as well, explained why he thinks “the more races that you add to crown that champion, the more legitimate it’s gonna be.”

Bell, who will start the playoffs fifth in points, was asked by Gluck what his thoughts were on expanding the number of races that decide the champion. In response, Bell said that this move would add legitimacy to the championship, echoing a sentiment held by the fan base that winning a title in the playoff era feels less impactful than in past formats.

“I think it would put more legitimacy behind the champion, and I think it’s fair to say that the champions of today are not viewed the same as the champions in the past. And the way that we’re gonna get back to there is by adding more races to crown a champion.” — Christopher Bell

The 30-year-old, in his sixth season off full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition, went on to say that he understands why NASCAR would utilize a postseason format, though he thinks that the concerns over legitimacy are just as important as the positive aspects.

While some fans support modifying the format to a three-race finale, or even returning to a version of the 10-race ‘Chase’ format used from 2004 to 2013, a growing number of fans would like to return to the 36-race format used prior to the 2004 season. It is traditional for motorsports to factor in all events to crown their champion, even if that means they win a couple of races early.

When asked by Bianchi if he supported the playoffs, Bell said that he is a supporter of the full-season, or 36-race, points system.

“I would like to have 36 races count towards the champion, and I think that’s how you get a champion of the sport in auto racing.” — Christopher Bell

Bell went on to compare this to other sports, even saying that basketball has more than one championship game, while reiterating that in auto racing, a full season of races should factor into crowning a champion.

Nonetheless, Bell does not seem set on this stance, saying that he gets the playoffs and the viral moments that the survive and advance scenarios make for the sport.

“I understand the playoff format,” Bell said. “I understand that it’s more entertaining and the elimination style creates, you know, big moments in our sport.”

As of press time, NASCAR has yet to confirm changes to the format for 2026 or beyond. Despite the format’s presence in the NASCAR National Series schedules revealed last week, NASCAR SVP Ben Kennedy has stated that this is not a guarantee of the return of the current format.

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