Christopher Bell had never broken a bone in a racing accident until this year.
So when he landed in the indoor medical center at Michigan International Speedway with a broken ankle in June, he didn’t know what to expect.
Making The Chase and being in contention – although a near miracle was needed to win the title – going into the final race was far from certain.
Bell has had to balance these two realities in the last month: Partly happy to be here, partly his innate hatred of finishing second and not winning.
Christopher Bell is balancing two realities. (Getty Images)
“Overall, our season has been really good,” Bell said at a press conference last week in Martinsville. “Four months ago, I don’t think any of us thought we’d be in the position we’re in.”
So Bell may look at 2026 as a missed opportunity in terms of winning a title.
He would need to win Sunday at Homestead and earn at least 14 stage points (or 13 stage points and the point for fastest lap) combined with Kyle Larson finishing 29th or worse with no stage points.
Or he can look at it as a learning experience.
“It was the first time I’ve broken a bone in my life and certainly the first time I’ve been hurt driving a race car other than minor concussions here and there,” Bell said. “I don’t really know that I learned anything about myself, but it was fun learning to persevere and push it. I’m proud of how I handled it.”
For Bell, he has finished second in eight races this year while winning just once. But that win came in a dominant performance at Darlington that put Bell in the spotlight as a serious championship contender.
But the rest of The Chase hasn’t gone either.
Bell has had three finishes of 15th or worse, including a notable 35th at Talladega that was partially the result of him spinning while trying to pit.
Bell’s year was a story of finishing second. (Getty Images)
It appeared to be a mistake that rested solely on Bell, although his crew chief Adam Stevens indicated that the car’s setup played a role as it was the first green-flag stop with the least spoiler for Daytona and Talladega.
“He’s driving the race car that we’ve prepared, so it’s not up to him by any means,” Stevens said at a news conference in Martinsville. “And we haven’t had any green flag stops with this new package, and it’s a pretty small box that we’re setting up to make these things do what they need to do on the track, and that’s for all of us, not just him.”
Stevens said he learned something about his driver going through the struggles of 2026.
“The resilience has really impressed me,” Stevens said. “It’s been a very strange year for us to be as competitive as we have been and we really don’t have a lot of shows for him. And he still brings his best every weekend and has done a much better job of focusing forward.
“He doesn’t get too distracted by whatever happened last week or the week before, and that’s a big part of the sport.”
Of course it can be frustrating.
“We’ve brought competitive cars, and he’s done a fantastic job, and sometimes that’s not enough,” Stevens said. “And I think it’s shown a lot of growth for Bell, especially through his injury and some of the trials and tribulations we’ve had this year.
“And I think that’s something that will pay dividends in his future.”