As the NASCAR Cup Series season gets set to take the green flag this Sunday at Daytona, predictions on who will be the 2024 Cup champion are taking center stage in the NASCAR world.
Some are picking Chase Elliott to rebound from a difficult 2023 campaign and claim his second championship. Others have tabbed Kyle Larson to grab title No. 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has already proclaimed that Ryan Blaney will be the first back-to-back Cup champion since Jimmie Johnson did it in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
Still others think that Denny Hamlin will finally get the monkey off his back and claim his first championship. But don't count Hamlin's 11- year-old daughter, Taylor, as being among those who think her father will win the prize.
On the Feb. 5 episode of Hamlin's "Actions Detrimental" podcast, Taylor predicted that Dad's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, Christopher Bell, would best everyone else and win the 2024 Cup championship.
"I don't know why, but I'm just getting some Christopher Bell moments right now," she said. "I'm thinking he's like — I'm thinking he'll have a good year this year. I think he will."
To be fair, Denny prefaced Taylor's prediction by telling her that she could pick anyone but him. While she might have been motivated to choose someone in house at JGR, Taylor's choice of champion is a strong pick. Bell has been knocking on the door of winning the championship, qualifying for the title-deciding Championship 4 race at Phoenix in each of the last two seasons.
With a little bit of luck, the 29-year-old Bell might already be a two-time Cup champion. He finished third in the championship standings in 2022, after a botched pit stop late in the race ended his championship hopes. In 2023, a blown brake rotor mid-race relegated the Norman, Oklahoma, native to finish fourth in the championship.
So, will bad luck continue to haunt both JGR racers and keep them from claiming their first championship? One thing is sure: If either one claims the prize this year, Taylor will be one very happy young lady.
