“I’m Not Good Enough!” Christopher Bell Laments Over Heartbreaking Chicagoland Defeat to Chase Briscoe

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season so far has been a nightmare for Christopher Bell, who is still desperately looking to secure his maiden win of the season despite the JGR Toyota’s having a significant pace advantage. He was hopeful about a victory this Sunday at Chicagoland, despite the wrist injury still being a major concern, but teammate Chase Briscoe broke his heart with a strong performance.

Despite having more pace in the final laps, Bell couldn’t catch the No:19 Camry and was really emotional about the loss, which was evident in his conversation with the media post-race. He declared as a racer, he hasn’t been good enough this season as failed to win both as the attacking car and defending car in the 2026 season so far.

It happens time and time again, where I’m way behind and coming up through the pack. I don’t know; I guess I had the track position in Nashville, and I still lost the race, so it goes both ways. We’ve lost them every way possible. I’m not good enough right now.

Christopher Bell said post-race.

The veteran admitted that one key reason behind Chase Briscoe’s win was the impressive blocks he pulled on him on the last laps. When the race was on the line, the driver and his spotter Drew Herring stepped up their game. If there were more laps left in the race, Christopher Bell would’ve come out as the victor.

He was out front and had the lead and threw a couple of good blocks on me, and that’s all she wrote. [Briscoe] and Drew [Herring, spotter] do really well at blocking, and the game was on the line, the race was on the line, and he knew that. I knew that. I didn’t get it done.

Christopher Bell added via Racer.com.

In the same conversation, the racer admitted that he finds it really disappointing and dis-heartening that he can’t secure his team a Cup race win they deserves in the 2026 season. The racer seems to believe that they reason they are not winning races this season has to do with his execution on the track not matching his three teammates, all of whom has won at least one race.

It’s disappointing to continue to lose races. We’ve lost them every way possible, and I’m just not good enough. Just not good enough. The cars are amazing. We’ve had the fastest car a lot, Toyota is great, and I’m not winning the races. So, just not good enough.

Christopher Bell asserted.

Chase Briscoe explains the fortunate advantage he had over Christopher Bell

It was not just solid blocking that got Chase Briscoe the win on Sunday, as luck played a key role as well. He took advantage of the lapped cars at the end to make blocks that ruined the momentum of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. His solid execution in the end, in a comparably slower car helped as well.

But then, honestly, at the end, the last two laps, lapped cars are what saved me because it made it where he didn’t have a clean lane. Like there was always another lapped car running the bottom or running the middle, but I could just kind of block him in a sense. I had to make sure I drove it in deep enough he couldn’t get to my left-rear, then just make sure I had a somewhat decent exit…

Chase Briscoe added.

The No:20 driver being one of the cleanest racers in the garage also helped Briscoe, as if it was someone else including Denny Hamlin, there would’ve been some aggressive moves at the end. It would be interesting to see how long it would take for Bell to get back to winning ways like his teammates in 2026.

Also Read: Chase Briscoe Declares He “Feel So American” After Maiden Win of 2026 at Chicagoland