DARLINGTON, S.C. — Christopher Bell snapped a 33-race winless streak, claiming his first victory of the year in Sunday night‘s Cook Out Southern 500, coming after a record-tying mark of seven runner-up efforts on the season. And the timing of his trophy hoist could not have been better for the perpetual championship contender.
Bell‘s 1.038-second win in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota over JGR teammate Ty Gibbs at the historic — and historically tough — 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase opener was a strong statement for Bell‘s championship run.
The victory vaults him from sixth place to second place in the championship standings, now only 12 points behind another JGR teammate, Denny Hamlin, with nine races left to decide who hoists the Bill France Cup.
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“It‘s been too long, oh my gosh, man,” said a grinning Bell, who took the checkered flag and proudly bowed to the packed and rowdy Darlington grandstands in honor of his former teammate, the late Kyle Busch.
“I‘m just so, so, so proud of all these guys; all these guys deserve it more than anyone,” he said of his team. “This has been a long time coming. And Darlington has been one I‘ve always wanted to win since I got into the sport. It‘s the ultimate driver‘s track.”
Not only did Bell end that winless streak, but the showing was a big boost to his spirit, considering this season he‘s had to overcome a broken wrist suffered in June during a crash at Michigan. Bell raced as the injury was healing this summer, and now that perseverance and unwavering belief in himself and his team have put him in position to vie for the 2026 championship.
Sunday‘s win in one of the premier events on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule was not only particularly rewarding in the moment, but a huge motivation going forward. And Bell‘s victory marks the first time since 2019 that the JGR operation has scored wins by all four of its drivers.
“We can win any week; it just hadn‘t happened yet,” Bell said. “When I was sitting in the infield care center at Michigan, I thought my season would be over. But we‘re still in it, baby. We‘re still in it.”
The 31-year-old Oklahoman led 46 laps on the night, but ultimately took the lead for good by getting around reigning series champion Kyle Larson with 12 laps remaining in the 367-lap race. Larson led a race-best 99 laps, but was among four cars that did not pit for fresh tires following an eight-minute red flag stoppage period for rain with 29 laps remaining.
Bell restarted fifth — his crew getting him out first among those that did take fresh tires on the pit sequence — and he wasted no time moving forward. He was on Larson‘s bumper two laps after that green-flag restart and made the winning move low on Larson — in the closing laps, holding off four other championship-eligible drivers, including Gibbs, polesitter 23XI Racing‘s Tyler Reddick, Team Penske‘s Ryan Blaney and Larson, who managed a top-five showing despite being at a tire deficit.
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Larson, who is riding a 51-race winless streak now, said after the race that he absolutely did not doubt the call to stay on track during that final caution instead of taking fresh tires.
“No, I don‘t,” Larson said of second-guessing his team‘s strategy. “[If we did] we were going to restart behind the 20 [Bell] and the 19 [sixth-place finisher, JGR‘s Chase Briscoe]. I was actually surprised they pitted in front of me and didn‘t stay out with me. There were so many cars on the lead lap, I thought there might be two to four more [cars] that would stay out and that could help me at least get some laps to manage my tires.
“But Bell got to second [place] so fast, I was just straight into playing defense and not able to run the lines I wanted to take care of my tires. Either way, it was going to be hard to hold him off, and I ended up holding him off longer than I thought.
“Really happy with the day. Much better than we‘ve been in Darlington the last couple times.”
Wood Brothers Racing‘s Josh Berry was the only non-Chase driver among the top-10 finishers, his seventh-place effort marking his sixth consecutive top-10 finish — the longest such streak for a Wood Brothers driver since NASCAR Hall of Famer, the late David Pearson in 1976. 23XI Racing‘s Bubba Wallace and Team Penske‘s Joey Logano were eighth and ninth.
Last week‘s Daytona regular season finale winner, RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece rallied to a 10th-place finish even after a slow pit sequence during the Stage 1 pit break that necessitated an extra pit stop and dropped him to 28th in the running order. He then went a lap down under the second green-flag cycle in Stage 2 and got the lap back as the beneficiary at the Stage 2 break.
The No. 1 seed and a five-time Darlington winner, Denny Hamlin finished 18th, a huge rebound after a series of bad luck events mid-race hijacked the title favorite‘s early trophy chances.
First, he and teammate Bell had slow pit stops during the Stage 2 caution period. And a lap after the restart for the stage break, while running 16th, Hamlin‘s No. 11 Toyota and Michael McDowell‘s No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet made contact. Hamlin‘s car went into the wall, and after multiple pit stops to assess the damage, he returned to the track and went a lap down with 100 laps remaining.
Timely strategy calls and subsequent caution periods helped him get back on the lead lap — important in salvaging that top-20 position that keeps him atop the standings.
“Certainly not the finish we were hoping for, good first couple of stages, just got where our car was best right before the wreck in Stage 3,” Hamlin said. “Certainly big gains all day and was really good in the long run and got it good by the time that last stage came but never got to see it through.
“It‘s the pressure of the sport. Can‘t have big mistakes. We just had a tough pit stop there, and once we got back there you‘re with guys that are a little more aggressive and don‘t really care about the points or anything like that, so you sometimes don‘t get a break, and that‘s the way it goes.
“We‘re still leading [the points], so just gotta go to the next race track and execute at a high level and do our best to execute a much better day next week than what we did this week.”
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Other Chase-eligible drivers included Carson Hocevar, who finished 11th, Austin Cindric and Chase Elliott, who finished 13th and 14th. Chris Buescher and Daniel Suárez were 20th and 21st. Hendrick Motorsports‘ William Byron was 37th among the 38-car field, his No. 24 Chevrolet suffering an engine problem 48 laps shy of the checkered flag.
Beyond Hamlin and Bell in the championship standings, Blaney is third now, 16 points off Hamlin. Reddick, who claimed the Stage 1 win, is 24 points back and Briscoe is 37 off his teammate‘s pace.
Round 2 of the 10-race Chase, the Enjoy Illinois 300, is Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Hamlin is the defending race winner.
Stage 2 recap
Christopher Bell won Stage 2 of Sunday‘s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. It was his fifth stage victory of 2026.
Kyle Larson finished second, climbing from 16th over the final stint of the frame. Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney completed the top five. Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe, William Byron, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric completed the top 10 and point earners. Berry is the only driver not competing in The Chase presented by Mobil 1.
MORE: Full Stage 2 results | Watch NASCAR video highlights
Ryan Preece finished 20th, struggling to climb through the field after multiple pit stops set him back after Stage 1. Chris Buescher finished 30th, striking the wall multiple times and reporting a bent toe link.
Reddick surged back to the lead on the Stage 2 restart, setting sail while Hamlin dropped to fourth. The No. 45 23XI Racing driver maintained out front until the pit cycle began at Lap 147.
He came down pit road at Lap 151, one lap after teammate Bubba Wallace. But Wallace‘s stop was two tenths quicker, and that allowed him to leapfrog to the lead for the first time.
Moments before the pit cycle officially began, Brad Keselowski went for his second spin of the evening, but the race stayed green as he came to a stop on the Turn 4 apron.
Thirty-five laps later, the second green-flag pit cycle began. Thanks to an 8.8-second stop, Briscoe jumped Wallace during the cycle, and the two-time defending Southern 500 winner took his first lead of the night.
That didn‘t last. With 15 to go in the stage, Bell, using four-lap fresher tires, passed his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and cruised to the stage victory.
Three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers had pit-road issues just after the conclusion of Stage 2. Briscoe ran out of fuel after the stage-checkered flag, and both Bell and Hamlin had slow pit stops before the start of the final stage. Reddick also had a slow stop on the final green-flag pit cycle in Stage 2 that caused the No. 45 to fall outside the top five. Reddick was scored ninth at the stage break.
Stage 1 recap
Tyler Reddick won Stage 1 of Sunday‘s NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Bubba Wallace finished second, followed by Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney. Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric, William Byron and Ty Gibbs completed the top 10 and points earners — all Chase presented by Mobil 1 drivers.
MORE: Full Stage 1 results
Hamlin jumped out to the lead at Lap 3, rocketing up from his fourth-place starting position in mere moments. Daniel Suárez, who started second, led the opening two circuits as polesitter and springtime Darlington winner Reddick settled in second place.
That lead didn’t last long, as Reddick reeled in his 23XI Racing co-owner and took the lead at Lap 30, successfully executing a slide job move in Turns 3 and 4.
Meanwhile, Suárez plummeted after the early short-run pace, falling to 17th once at Lap 35 yellow was displayed as a competition caution, which allowed for teams to check tire wear after Saturday‘s practice and qualifying sessions were canceled. Suárez finished the stage 26th, worst of postseason drivers.
Reddick and Hamlin stayed status quo off pit road. Moments later on the ensuing restart, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver took point at Lap 45 for the second time on the night.
The first green-flag pit cycle began at Lap 71, when Chase drivers Bell, Blaney, Cindric and Joey Logano came for service. Hamlin and Reddick came two laps later, and again, status quo as Hamlin exited first.
The pit cycle finished at Lap 80 and Hamlin officially cycled back to the lead.
At Lap 94, Reddick snatched back the lead and held it when a Lap 107 caution ended the stage. Carson Hocevar and Brad Keselowski made contact in the midpack, causing the RFK Racing driver and co-owner to spin in Turn 4.
Of note, Wallace climbed seven spots during the final stint of the stage.
Contributing: Staff reports