JOLIET, Il. — Christopher Bell made a comeback on Sunday night and scored a runner-up finish behind teammate Chase Briscoe at Chicagoland Speedway. Yet, he did not have a smile on his face while recapping his night.
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"We've lost them every way possible, and yeah, I mean, I'm just... it's just... I'm not good enough right now," a frustrated Bell said on pit road after the race.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had a whirlwind night at Chicagoland Speedway. He had a very fast car during the opening stage, but he sustained front end damage after an incident on pit road.
He made a two-tire pit stop after a caution for Austin Hill and Shane van Gisbergen, but he slammed into Todd Gilliland while exiting his pit stall.
This contact did not appear major at first glance, but further examination revealed a nicked splitter. This completely changed the handling of the Toyota and forced the team to make multiple stops on pit road for repairs after stage 1.
"I felt like I lost a lot of car performance," Bell said about the damage, which dropped him to 12th by the end of stage 1. "You know, it was just really loose, really loose, and then I guess they got it fixed up. It was pretty fast at the end."
The multiple pit stops between stage 1 and 2 dropped Bell to the tail end of the longest line for the restart, but he began moving his way through the field. He had the speed back in the car, and he had the security he desired.
Bell worked his way to sixth place by the end of stage 2, and then he worked his way up to third place in the closing laps of the race. He passed William Byron, who had swept the stage wins, and then he began chasing down Briscoe on fresher tires.
Bell had the faster car, and he erased Briscoe's advantage with five laps remaining in the race. He got to his teammate's bumper, but he just could not complete the pass after taking the white flag.
Chase Briscoe is back on top! pic.twitter.com/2B76a5k2tD
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 6, 2026
"(Briscoe) was out front and had the lead and threw a couple of good blocks on me, and that's all she wrote," Bell said. "...I mean, him and Drew (Herring, spotter) do really good at blocking.
"And you know, the game was on the line, the race was on the line, and he knew that. I knew that, and yeah, I didn't get it done."
A runner-up finish is a familiar feeling for Bell, who often has the fastest car. He has been forced to work his way through the field with a faster car multiple times in recent seasons, and he has also fallen short of victory lane just as many times.
Recent examples include two different playoff races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, both of which kept him out of the Championship 4, and this season's spring race at Phoenix Raceway.
Bell dominated the race at Phoenix while leading a series-high 176 laps and scoring a race-high 19 stage points. Yet, he had to settle for a runner-up after trying to chase down Ryan Blaney at the end.
Blaney gambled with a two-tire stop and gained the track position. Bell went with four tires and lost his advantage.
He also finished second in this season's rain-delayed race at Nashville Superspeedway, albeit after losing the lead to Denny Hamlin on the final lap.
The points associated with runner-up finishes have done little to soften the blow. The frustration remains evident every time that Bell watches another driver celebrate a win that he could have taken.
"It's just disappointing to continue to lose races, you know," Bell said. "It's...we've lost them every way possible, and just not good enough.
"Cars are amazing. I have the fastest car a lot. Toyota's great, and I'm not winning the races. Just not good enough."
