Christopher Bell has been successful at the Bristol track, and he has agreed that it has been due to luck. With the NASCAR Cup series headed to Bristol soon, he will be hoping his luck works for him again. Although he made claims about increasing horsepower to make races skill-based, there is something different in Bristol that Bell has noticed.
Christopher Bell on the key ingredient to win Bristol
NASCAR has increased the horsepower on the cars at races this year, and drivers, including Bell, have welcomed this idea. Currently, 8th in the standings, he believes the increased horsepower will help facilitate drivers and teams better.
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“I love where we’re headed. I always think we could use more [Horsepower],” said Bell in a recent interview. “Hopefully, this is an indication we’re turning the right knob. The sky’s the limit, and if we continue to add the horsepower, we’re going to get right where we need to be.”
His feelings were echoed by a few other drivers and even legends of the sport, but just weeks after making huge claims about horsepower, Bell has pivoted to luck being a key factor in Bristol.
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“The other side of Bristol, the tire fiasco, Bristol, you just need a lot of luck, I got a lot of luck when I won that race,” claimed Christopher Bell.
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His claim’s have some truth to them as there have been six different winners at the track in the last six Cup Series races at Bristol. According to Bell, while cars and driver techniques are vital to any race, things seem to vary in Bristol.
“If you go and look at the data from all of the drivers across the field, all of us are really good at driving these cars and managing the tires,” he added. “It’s impossible to see driver technique differences that are going to save the tires… It’s just a lot of luck to win that race with how the tires go off.”
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Although all of the short-track races have seen huge tire degradation this year because of the increased power output in cars, Bristol has always had this problem, and it is largely because of the 9-inch-thick concrete. Unlike most NASCAR track surfaces, made from asphalt, Bristol features a concrete racing surface, which is great for grip but terrible for the tires. Even with the rising temperatures, the concrete does not soften up as asphalt does, which makes it difficult for tires.
This issue has only amplified with the Next Gen of Cup Series cars. Considering the wider tires, more of the rubber makes contact with the concrete track, and without a doubt, the tire degradation is worse. Moreover, the increase in horsepower this year will only make the situation much worse for the drivers, as they will have to do an extreme amount of tire management, but Goodyear is trying its best to help them out.
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Can Goodyear save the drivers’ weekend at Bristol?
One aspect of racing at the Bristol Motor Speedway is quite apparent: one cannot expect the organizers to change the entire track surface, tearing down years of history. But what if NASCAR’s tire supplier, Goodyear, were to take matters into its hands?
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Well, that seems to be the case for the 2026 race. As the news conference went ahead this week, some of the drivers participated in a closed wheel force test at the track ahead of the Food City 500. Corey Heim, who ran one race on the track with 23XI Racing last year, was one of the drivers who ran the test. He seemed genuinely impressed with the tire that Goodyear will bring for the race weekend.
“It’s a little different than what I experienced last fall,” Heim said. “The updated Goodyears for this spring certainly seemed a little bit more forgiving in the sense of tire wear and laid a lot more rubber than we used to. So it seems like they’re making some strides on the tires, and I’m definitely glad to be a part of it.”
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Heim, understandably, has a good idea about the tire wear here. He was one of the best at tire management when racing the #67 here last year, managing to clinch a top-10 finish (a sixth-place finish).
So, even though Christopher Bell feels that the race is more luck-based than skill-based, he could be in for a surprise at Bristol this time around.