Christopher Bell is within 12 points of standings leader Denny Hamlin, but three months ago the Joe Gibbs Racing driver thought his 2026 season was over when he broke his left wrist in a vicious 63 g crash at Michigan.
“I didn’t know what the future held whenever I was sitting in the infield care center in Michigan,” Bell recalled after winning the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington. “I thought for sure I would have to have surgery. Then it was how many races am I going to miss?”
Once Bell was told that no surgery was needed, only a cast, he then figured if he could drive his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota he wouldn’t miss any races. Of course, the question remained as to how well he could drive his car.
A week after the Michigan crash, Bell and crew chief Adam Stevens gambled on fuel mileage at Pocono. A possible top five turned into a 26th-place finish when Bell had to pit as leader Hamlin received the white flag. The following week at San Diego, Bell started the race to get the points but then turned it over to Brent Crews. After completing 28 laps, the car’s engine blew and the team finished 39th.
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Christopher Bell qualifying at Sonoma in June.
Bell cites his fifth-place finish at Sonoma, three weeks after his Michigan crash, as the turning point when he thought he might have a shot at this year’s championship. At the time, he was 10th in the driver standings. Over the next eight races. Bell finished outside the top 10 only twice—19th at North Wilkesboro and 17th at Daytona. However, he produced four second-place finishes, a fourth, and a seventh that resulted in him becoming the sixth-seed for the 10-race Chase for the championship.
However, the 31-year-old Oklahoma driver hasn’t been without pain as he has charged upward in the standings.
“I’ve definitely been uncomfortable, not really in the car, but after the races,” said Bell, who jumped from sixth to second in the standings with his first victory this season and the 14th of his career. “My wrist has just hurt and been sore, so I’ve been wearing this sort of a wrap on it.”
Bell admitted he was in a “lot of pain” after his fourth-place finish at New Hampshire.
“Daytona was an easier race on me,” Bell said. “I would have thought this one (Darlington) would have been really hard, but I feel good. So, I think I’m making strides in the healing process.”
COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500—RACE RESULTS
Darlington Raceway—Darlington, South Carolina
, September 6, 2026
Pos/Driver/Team/Laps(Status)/Pts
1. Christopher Bell (C), Mobil 1 Toyota, Running (367 laps), 73
2. Ty Gibbs (C), Monster Energy Toyota, Running (367 laps), 36
3. Tyler Reddick (C), Chumba Casino Toyota, Running (367 laps), 46
4. Ryan Blaney (C), Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford, Running (367 laps), 44
5. Kyle Larson (C), HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, Running (367 laps), 41
6. Chase Briscoe (C), Bass Pro Shops Toyota, Running (367 laps), 43
7. Josh Berry, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, Running (367 laps), 34
8. Bubba Wallace (C), Xfinity Toyota, Running (367 laps), 44
9. Joey Logano (C), Pennzoil Ultra Platinum Ford, Running (367 laps), 28
10. Ryan Preece (C), Consumer Cellular Ford, Running (367 laps), 31
11. Carson Hocevar (C), Spectrum Chevrolet, Running (367 laps), 26
12. Alex Bowman, Ally Chevrolet, Running (367 laps), 25
13. Austin Cindric (C), Discount Tire Ford, Running (367 laps), 28
14. Chase Elliott (C), NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, Running (367 laps), 23
15. Erik Jones, Dollar Tree Toyota, Running (367 laps), 22
16. Todd Gilliland, Ruedebusch Development & Construction Ford, Running (367 laps), 21
17. Michael McDowell, Delaware Life Chevrolet, Running (367 laps), 20
18. Denny Hamlin (C), Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, Running (367 laps), 35
19. Corey Heim (i), Fleetio Toyota, Running (367 laps), 0
20. Chris Buescher (C), Kroger/Gold Peak Ford, Running (367 laps), 17
21. Daniel Suarez (C), Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, Running (367 laps), 16
22. AJ Allmendinger, Gerald’s Tires/BTS Rewards Chevrolet, Running (367 laps), 15
23. Brad Keselowski, BuildSubmarines.com Ford, Running (367 laps), 14
24. John Hunter Nemechek, Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota, Running (367 laps), 13
25. Zane Smith, Aaron’s Dream Machine Ford, Running (367 laps), 12
26. Shane Van Gisbergen, Red Bull Chevrolet, Running (366 laps), 11
27. Ross Chastain, Busch Light Chevrolet, Running (366 laps), 10
28. Austin Hill (i), Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet, Running (366 laps), 0
29. Austin Dillon, Boot Barn Chevrolet, Running (366 laps), 8
30. Riley Herbst, GOGO SQUEEZ Toyota, Running (366 laps), 7
31. Ty Dillon, Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet, Running (366 laps), 6
32. Noah Gragson, StheastrnEqpmntSpply/TennantCmpRbtcs Ford, Running (366 laps), 5
33. Cole Custer, Sysco/Parker’s Kitchen Chevrolet, Running (366 laps), 4
34. Connor Zilisch, Roto-Rooter Chevrolet, Running (365 laps), 3
35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ram Self Storage Chevrolet, Running (363 laps), 2
36. Cody Ware, ApexFX Chevrolet, Running (363 laps), 1
37. William Byron (C), Valvoline Restore & Protect Chevrolet, Engine (319 laps), 6
38. Chad Finchum (i), AutoParts.com Ford, Suspension (243 laps), 0
Fastest Lap: Christopher Bell (No. 20 Toyota)—Lap 345, 29.936 seconds.
Time of Race: 4 hours, 3 minutes, 5 seconds
Average Speed: 123.741 mph
Margin of Victory: 1.038 seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric, William Byron, Ty Gibbs.
Stage 2 Top 10: Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Josh Berry, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric.
Race Winner: Christopher Bell, No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota. Bell earned his 14th NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first win of 2026 and his first victory at Darlington Raceway.
Race Notes: Ty Gibbs finished second for his fourth top-10 finish in nine races at Darlington and his 17th top-10 of 2026. Tyler Reddick finished third for his ninth top-10 at Darlington. Connor Zilisch was the highest-finishing rookie in 34th. Denny Hamlin leads the points standings by 12 points over Christopher Bell.
Caution Flags: 6 cautions for 44 laps.
Lead Changes: 29 among 12 drivers.
Next Race: September 13, 2026—World Wide Technology Raceway.
NASCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER STANDINGS
After the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway
Pos/Driver/Points
1. Denny Hamlin (C), 2135
2. Christopher Bell (C), 2123
3. Ryan Blaney (C), 2119
4. Tyler Reddick (C), 2111
5. Chase Briscoe (C), 2098
6. Ty Gibbs (C), 2096
7. Kyle Larson (C), 2086
8. Joey Logano (C), 2063
9. Chase Elliott (C), 2063
10. Bubba Wallace (C), 2054
11. Chris Buescher (C), 2047
12. Carson Hocevar (C), 2046
13. Daniel Suarez (C), 2041
14. Austin Cindric (C), 2033
15. Ryan Preece (C), 2031
16. William Byron (C), 2021
17. Shane Van Gisbergen, 616
18. Brad Keselowski, 557
19. Michael McDowell, 537
20. Ross Chastain, 528
21. Erik Jones, 520
22. Todd Gilliland, 489
23. AJ Allmendinger, 478
24. Zane Smith, 467
25. Josh Berry, 448
26. Austin Dillon, 443
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 432
28. John Hunter Nemechek, 431
29. Alex Bowman, 416
30. Riley Herbst, 409
31. Noah Gragson, 351
32. Cole Custer, 333
33. Ty Dillon, 316
34. Connor Zilisch, 274
35. Cody Ware, 202
36. Casey Mears, 13
37. Kevin Magnussen, 11
38. Jimmie Johnson, 9
39. Katherine Legge, 8
40. BJ McLeod, 4
41. Corey Heim (i), 0
42. Harrison Burton (i), 0
43. Austin Hill (i), 0
44. JJ Yeley (i), 0
45. Justin Allgaier (i), 0
46. Daniel Dye (i), 0
47. Jesse Love (i), 0
48. Chad Finchum (i), 0
49. Joey Gase (i), 0
50. Anthony Alfredo (i), 0
51. Josh Bilicki (i), 0
52. Timmy Hill (i), 0
53. Gray Gaulding (i), 0
54. Corey LaJoie (i), 0
55. Chandler Smith (i), 0
Points Leader: Denny Hamlin leads the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 2,135 points, 12 points ahead of Christopher Bell.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.