Ahead of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass conducted an anonymous survey among the 16 drivers who qualified for the postseason. The results revealed that Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell are the two most sought-after teammates. Larson received the highest number of votes with four, while Bell followed closely with three.
One driver praised Bell, saying, “I just like him. He’s a good kid, a talented driver, and enjoyable to talk to about cars. I have a lot of respect for his abilities.”
Both Larson and Bell had standout performances during the 2024 season. Larson, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports alongside teammates Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Alex Bowman, secured the most wins of any driver with six victories. He also competed in the Indianapolis 500, finishing 18th.
During an interview with Brad Gillie at Race Industry Week 2024, Larson shared his busy offseason plans. “This year is packed. We’ve had calm offseasons recently, but this time, we’ve got vacations mixed with racing. We’ve already been on one trip and have another coming up in a week and a half,” he said. Larson also revealed his excitement about racing in Australia. “We leave on Christmas night for Perth to race sprint cars. It’s a High Limit-promoted event, offering a $100,000 prize—the largest in Australian sprint car history.”
Christopher Bell, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing alongside Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and Chase Briscoe, won three regular-season races and finished fifth in the Cup Series standings. However, Bell expressed frustration about missing out on a chance to compete for the championship.
“I feel cheated,” Bell told NBC Sports. “In the last 15-20 laps, the race was manipulated by Chevrolet, which forced us into a difficult situation. That led to my mistake on the final lap, causing me to hit the wall. I believe the race wasn’t run fairly, and had it been, (Byron) would’ve dropped enough spots to get me into the championship race.”
