NASCAR star Christopher Bell reveals why he's racing with 'completely different mindset' in 2026

NASCAR Cup Series star Christopher Bell has revealed he is racing with a completely different mentality following the change of championship format over the offseason.

For 2026 and beyond, NASCAR has scrapped the playoffs and returned to The Chase, with "win and you're in" gone, and the regular-season standings now playing a much more important role.

The 16-driver field for The Chase will be determined solely by the points standings, and the higher up you finish, the more of a head start you get on your rivals when the 10-race Chase begins.

So, with that in mind, Bell has revealed it's a completely different proposition competing in the Cup Series this year, compared to recent seasons.

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Christopher Bell on racing under Chase format

“Yeah, it's just a completely different mindset and way of attacking the weekend where before it was it was literally win or bust," Bell said during media availability at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"You're here for race wins and stage wins, and you're looking at those playoff points, and if you don't win a race, it's like, 'Okay, well, it's behind us, it's on to the next one.'

"The regular season standings were a thing with the previous format, but it really only mattered whenever you got towards the end of the regular season, and on top of that, the only reason that you're talking about the regular season was because of the bonus points that it played that it paid out."

'Goofy' points standings gone

Bell continued, labeling the old standings as 'goofy': "Now it means everything. It's the true standings; the true standings in the previous format was the playoff points, and now it is the points that everybody sees.

"We don't have 2 goofy point standings. The points are the points and it really matters and it's important. So, yeah, I'm thankful that I'm not buried in the 30s anymore.

"I was talking to Jeff (Gluck) before COTA, and I'm like, well, the regular season championship is probably out the window, and here we are, it looks a lot different now. It just goes to show that if you run well, you can make up points and put yourself in position.”

Ahead of Sunday's race at Las Vegas, Bell currently sits sixth in the regular season standings, and he'll be looking for another day of big points after qualifying on pole on Saturday.

He'll face stiff competition from his teammates, though, with Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs having also qualified inside the top three.