By Luis Torres, Staff Writer/Photographer
Joe Gibbs Racing was denied having three cars in the Championship 4 after Christopher Bell struggled throughout Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Bell finishing seventh wasn’t enough to best Kyle Larson, who got the final spot by seven points.
Therefore, Bell is a bridesmaid in the Round of 8 for the second straight year in a row.
Last year, it was a wall riding penalty that saw him eliminated from the title fight. This time around, lack of race pace in the long run kept the 31-year-old racer at seeking redemption from not only last year but also losing the 2023 title after a flat tire ended his closest shot at hoisting the Bill France Trophy.
“When I got the balance close at times, I could take off on tires and do ok and make some passes and maintain my position,” said Bell. “The consistent theme of the day was just falling backwards as the tires got old. We weren’t strong enough at Martinsville this weekend.”
Bell added that the lack of strength was a race weekend problem. Consequently, the No. 20 Toyota Camry XZE just couldn’t stay on par with his playoff adversaries.
“We practiced in the teens, qualified in the teens and kind of raced back there most of the day,” said Bell. “I feel content with the results, the four who are going there are legitimate contenders and whoever the champion is will be well deserved. The 20 team just wasn’t good enough.”
Bell wasn’t the only one who faced disappointment at Martinsville, his playoff teammates Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin didn’t even make the full race distance.
Mechanical woes bit both of them in the final stage that saw their days end early, but unlike Bell, their Round of 8 victories guaranteed them a title opportunity at Phoenix Raceway next Sunday.
On the 298th lap, Briscoe went to the garage after the No. 19 machine began waning without any warning. The pit crew observed the issue and there wasn’t anything that could’ve been done and Briscoe ended up finishing last out of the 37-car field.
Engine issues force @chasebriscoe down pit road. pic.twitter.com/fcdmLFcGz9
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 26, 2025
“I was just running around there,” said Briscoe, who now has four DNFs. “I felt really good about coming here and where we were at and racing with Larson there and went to upshift and something happened. I’m not really sure, it’s unfortunate. We’ll go on to next week and that won’t matter anyways.”
Later in the race, Hamlin was running second behind Ryan Blaney before his Toyota motor fried up as smoke came out the pipes entering the backstretch. Like Briscoe, Hamlin had no warning on the issue as he brought the No. 11 machine to the garage where he finished 35th, his fourth DNF of the season.
Now, @dennyhamlin goes behind the wall with mechanical issues of his own. pic.twitter.com/RL2eLFotr7
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 26, 2025
Frustration from Hamlin followed as those issues raises concerns that could deny him that elusive NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
“I’m obviously concerned, but there obviously nothing I can do about it,” said Hamlin. “We’ll live with it and hopefully we’ll get back next week and we are just going to have to see how it goes. I’m confident in the speed that we’ll have next week. I’m really confident in what this team is going to bring next week and we’ll bring our best, hopefully it lasts.”
Martinsville will go down as a race weekend JGR will like to forget and put their eyes on besting the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Larson and Sunday’s race winner William Byron.
