The outdated railbirds may name him a rabbit — the one who leaves the gate whereas all others are nonetheless lumbering up to the mark.
Be cautious of the rabbit, for of fable fame, he might have peaked too quickly and, who is aware of, may take his dominance without any consideration.
However then once more, it’s arduous to win 27 out of 36 races if you happen to don’t win three of each 4, proper? Proper! That proper there may be some math.
And regardless of the way you add it up, three wins within the first 4 races is sort of a powerful begin to 2025 for Christopher Bell, who simply is likely to be the quickest Oklahoman since Mickey Mantle dropped down a bunt and sped out of Commerce.
MEET CARSON KVAPIL
Solely three different drivers in NASCAR’s big-league historical past have gained three of the primary 4, and fairly shockingly, none of them was named Richard Petty. Who have been they, and have been they merely rabbits or have been they signaling a season of very good substance?
You’ll should undergo the gears to search out out.
First Gear: Holding it clear off Flip 4
Generally these late-race cautions save the day. They usually’re not at all times mysterious or stupefying.
With eight laps remaining Sunday at Phoenix, Bell was main and had put a number of automobile lengths between his rear bumper and Denny Hamlin’s “Virginia is for Lovers” entrance license plate. Figuratively talking.
Bell’s lead appeared larger than it was, largely as a result of it appeared Hamlin was about to get a combat for second from Kyle Larson.
ANOTHER PHOTO FINISH AT PHOENIX!
Christopher Bell holds off Denny Hamlin and beats him to the end line to get his third win in a row!
That’s when one thing detonated in Ty Gibbs’ automobile, tossing particles right here and there as he broadsided the skin wall. That introduced out a warning and arrange an eventual two-lap dash, which turned a terrific side-by-side sprint between Bell and Hamlin, who additionally occur to be teammates in Joe Gibbs’ store — they mainly deal with one another as teammates, for higher or worse.
However the teammate angle made issues fairly fascinating, because it’s straightforward for issues to get bodily coming off Flip 4 at Phoenix, as these in a position to watch Saturday’s Xfinity race may inform you. And no, not all have been ready, which leads us to a taller gear.
Second Gear: For some, CW stands for “Cannot Watch”
The Saturday Xfinity races have grow to be must-watch TV by means of the primary month of this season. Saturday at Phoenix was the most effective but, as Aric Almirola went all “Days of Thunder” on Alex Bowman because the checkers started waving.
If this had been the end of a Sunday Cup race, the Boys in Advertising and marketing would’ve been up all evening concocting a five-point technique to leverage that reward. Simply think about how significantly better it will’ve been if you happen to’d been in a position to see it!
Properly, that’s probably not truthful. Possibly you probably did see it. Lots of people did. Possibly even most, or maybe the overwhelming majority of those that wished to observe it truly did see it.
However not everyone, and that’s an ongoing concern with NASCAR’s first full season of the CW broadcasting all Xfinity programming. CW is made up of many native associates, and people associates are given sufficient independence to, say, lower away to different scheduled programming, equivalent to “World’s Funniest Animals” or “Gilmore Ladies.”
Clearly, there are various station managers selecting to not air Xfinity races on their native CW associates. This can’t be what NASCAR had in thoughts.
As the ultimate lap unfolded, CW’s Atlanta affiliate went to industrial and by no means returned to Phoenix. The father or mother community issued an apology, mentioned it wouldn’t occur once more, and likewise mentioned this:
“We recognize that our associates are nonetheless studying the ability of our new programming and the implications that has for serving our collective viewers.”
Third Gear: Does a quick begin equal a championship end?
On to the promised reply to some Christopher Bell trivia.
The earlier three Cup racers who gained three of the season’s first 4 races:
Herb Thomas in 1954, driving the Fabulous Hudson Hornet ready by Smokey Yunick at Daytona Seaside’s “Greatest Rattling Storage in City.”
Invoice Elliott in 1992, driving a Ford for Junior Johnson. Invoice truly gained 4 of the primary 5 that 12 months.
Kevin Harvick in 2018, driving a Ford for Stewart-Haas.
(Psst … don’t inform Christopher Bell, however none of these guys went on to win that 12 months’s championship.)
Fourth Gear: Another quick Oklahomans
Let’s revisit our earlier reference to Oklahoma, Bell’s residence state. Sure, he’s simply probably the most embellished NASCAR driver born within the nation’s forty sixth state (apologies to Tanner Berryhill).
However is he the all-time finest racer whenever you embody different types of racing? It’s removed from computerized when you think about these different Oklahoma natives.
∎ Troy Ruttman, winner of the 1952 Indy 500.
∎ Ivan “Ironman” Stewart, off-road legend with a truckload of championships.
∎ Shane Stewart, two-time sprint-car champ.
Sure, we’re overlooking Hartwell Wilburn “Stubby” Stubblefield, whose promising open-wheel profession ended when he was killed in a crash whereas practising for the 1935 Indy 500.
Stubby’s ride-along mechanic was additionally killed, and whereas we’d hate to court docket such horrible prospects, think about how a lot enjoyable racing might be if we introduced again ride-along mechanics.
