Talladega Gives Bell Progress on Paper — But Little Else

TALLADEGA — Hailey Bell needed Talladega to change the direction of her championship run.

For most of the night, it looked like it might.

Bell started second in the Palmetto Gaming No. 32 Toyota, won Stage 1, finished third in Stage 2 and led more laps than anyone else before finishing fourth in NRRS Round 22.

It was one of her strongest races of the season.

And somehow, she still left Talladega fifth out of the five active Chase contenders.

By one point.

“I ran one of the best races I’ve run all season, and I’m still last in the Chase,” Bell said. “That hurts in a completely different way.”

Bell technically made progress toward the championship lead.

She entered Talladega 72 points back following the transfer of Jaxon’s Chase points and left only 62 behind.

But the 10-point improvement tells only part of the story.

Trent entered Talladega as the championship leader but did not compete. That allowed Bell to gain 41 points on him without racing him directly.

Against Will, who left Talladega as the new championship leader, Bell actually lost two points.

She gained seven on Clutch.

She gained two on Outlaw.

That two-point gain on Outlaw moved Bell from three points behind fourth place to just one.

“I technically gained on the championship lead, but I don’t really feel like I gained anything from racing,” Bell said. “Talladega is one of the places where I’m supposed to make up ground. If I gain a couple here and then lose 20 somewhere else, it doesn’t really help me.”

That is what makes Talladega particularly difficult for Bell to accept.

Superspeedways have traditionally been one of her strongest track types, and this race represented her best opportunity to build a cushion before the schedule turned toward Portland and New Hampshire.

Instead, Bell leaves Talladega without that cushion.

“I basically needed to win,” Bell said. “I needed to gain enough here that I could afford to struggle the next two weeks and still have something left when we got to Homestead. That was the whole plan.”

Portland presents an especially difficult challenge.

Bell’s road-course finishes this season are eighth at Watkins Glen, fifth at Road America, sixth at Mexico City and seventh at COTA.

Meanwhile, several of the drivers ahead of her in the Chase have consistently run near the front on road courses.

Trent won both Mexico City and COTA.

Talladega also highlighted a larger frustration that has followed Bell throughout the season.

Bell has consistently qualified for postseason competition because she consistently shows up.

Other drivers have occasionally missed races and surrendered entire nights of points. Bell rarely does.

But once the Chase begins, Bell feels that simply showing up is no longer enough.

“I’ve made every Chase or playoff because I show up every week,” Bell said. “I don’t want that to be the only reason I’m here. I want to actually prove that I deserve to be fighting for something.”

The season-long statistics help explain that frustration.

Eight of Bell’s 17 stage points this season came at Talladega alone.

That made Tuesday night one of the rare races where Bell consistently scored alongside the championship leaders throughout the event.

But even then, the final result was not enough to move her out of fifth.

“I want to feel like I matter,” Bell said. “I want to feel like I belong here. I don’t want to just show up and collect points. I want to actually accomplish something.”

Next season will bring a different environment.

Bell will move to Starclutch Racing for her final full-time campaign, giving her a larger teammate structure than she has had this season.

She is looking forward to finally having teammates around her on track, but she does not expect that alone to fix the problems she has struggled with.

“I can’t wait to actually have teammates next season,” Bell said. “But if they’re running at the front and I’m in the back, they can’t help me. I still have to get myself there.”

Bell has also cited the same small group of drivers repeatedly controlling races as one of the biggest reasons she plans to step away from full-time competition after 2027.

She wants racing to become something she can enjoy again.

For most of Talladega, it was.

Then the points were counted.

Bell won a stage.

She led the most laps.

She finished fourth.

She cut the championship deficit by 10 points.

She gained seven on Clutch.

She gained two on Outlaw.

And after all of it, Hailey Bell remains fifth in the Chase.

By one point.