TC Daily Pit Stop: Christopher Bell Says This Miss Hurts Less; Preece, Gilliland Snag Top-10s; Disastrous Martinsville Could Make Things Tense for Spire
TC Daily Pit Stop: Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Bell Falls Short of Championship 4, But Says This One Hurts Less
The somber disappointment was evident as Christopher Bell digested failing to make the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 for the second consecutive season following a seventh-place finish in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. But if there’s one positive note, Bell felt that his departure from the Playoffs this time around stung a lot less than last year’s controversial Playoff exit.
Heading into the weekend, Bell came in 37 points above the Playoff cutline, a seemingly comfortable margin. But with the possibility of a driver below the cutline winning, Bell knew he would essentially be battling Kyle Larson, who was one point behind him heading into the weekend, for the final Championship 4 spot.
As it turned out, that’s what it all came down to as William Byron dominated by leading 304 of 500 laps, and he held off two other Playoff drivers, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott, to win an advance to the Championship 4.
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Preece, Gilliland Snag Top-10s to Highlight Strong Runs for Non-Playoff Drivers
The majority of coverage from Sunday’s XFINITY 500 centered around those in the Playoffs, and rightfully so, as the 500-lap gauntlet from Martinsville ultimately decided who would compete for a championship in Phoenix.
When the checkered flag was displayed, the top-three finishers — William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott — were not just playoff-eligible drivers, but were also drivers who needed to win to secure themselves a spot in the Championship 4.
In the context of the overall campaign, those stories definitely deserve precedence, but that doesn’t make performances from non-playoff drivers, like we saw on Sunday with Ryan Preece, Todd Gilliland, and Josh Berry, any less important.
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Disastrous Martinsville Could Make Things Tense for Spire in 2026
After an unfathomably tough weekend at Martinsville, there’s probably going to have to be some kind of ‘managerial intervention’ within the Spire Motorsports camp in advance of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.
The week had begun on such a positive note, too, with an announcement on Monday that Rajah Caruth (the team’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver) would be moving up to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and then, another big news item on Wednesday that Daniel Suarez would drive the No. 7 Chevrolet for the organization in 2026.
After receiving damage from an early-race stackup, Rajah Caruth cut down a right-rear tire while battling hard with Kaden Honeycutt, sending the No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet into the outside wall. The race-ending accident also ended Caruth’s hopes of advancing to the Championship 4.
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Other NASCAR Headlines:
Shakeup in the Power Rankings After Hendrick’s Big Day at Martinsville
William Byron Rises to Occasion to Make Championship 4 with Martinsville Win
Blaney, Team Penske Run Out of Magic in Spirited Drive at Martinsville
Taylor Gray Finally Breaks Through For First Xfinity Series Win
William Byron Captures Martinsville Pole Ahead of Must-Win Xfinity 500
Harrison Burton Joins Expanding Sam Hunt Racing Team in 2026
Additional Resources:
Schedules: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR Xfinity | NASCAR Trucks
Driver Points: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR Xfinity | NASCAR Trucks
Owner Points: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR Xfinity | NASCAR Trucks
Rookie Standings: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR Xfinity | NASCAR Trucks
Manufacturer Standings: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR Xfinity | NASCAR Trucks
2025 Driver/Team Charts: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR Xfinity | NASCAR Trucks
2026 Driver/Team Charts: NASCAR Cup | NASCAR O’Reilly | NASCAR Trucks