CHARLOTTE -- Christopher Bell learned a simple, yet harsh lesson last season as he fell short of the Championship 4 for the first time in the Gen 7 era.
If he is going to be the champion, he has to win. Points just don't cut it after early playoff eliminations.
"Last year, the Las Vegas race - that is the one that really stings and feels like got away," Bell said at Playoff Media Day. "We had the car performance; we had the execution - Joey (Logano) and the 22 team outsmarted us. They made it on fuel.
"We had to make a pit stop and they won the race, and unfortunately it kicked us out. We scored great points through Las Vegas. We scored great points through Homestead-Miami, and we still didn't make it, so you have to win. Whenever you get to that Round of 8, you really need to bank and plan on winning a race to make the final four."
Bell had the best car at Las Vegas to kick off the Round of 8 last season. He led 155 laps and won the second stage. However, he gave up the lead to make a late pit stop. On paper, it didn't appear that he could make it to the end of the race on fuel.
Joey Logano, however, stayed out on track in an effort to stretch his fuel. He continued completing laps while Bell worked his way back through the field. It did not appear that Logano would achieve his goal, yet he made it all the way to the checkered flag. He punched his ticket to the Championship 4 while Bell settled for second.
Bell secured more points the following week at Homestead-Miami Speedway by finishing fourth, but Tyler Reddick won the race and took another Championship 4 spot.
Bell initially made the Championship 4 on points in the cutoff race at Martinsville Speedway. He made the last-second pass he needed to overtake William Byron in the standings. However, he hit the wall and remained against it, so NASCAR penalized him.
This knocked Bell out and put Byron in. Bell later said he felt "cheated" by the Martinsville finish considering that Chevrolet drivers Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon ran a blockade to prevent Byron losing any spots.
This season, Bell won't go to Las Vegas, Talladega, and Martinsville simply looking for points if he makes the Round of 8. His focus will remain on winning his way into the Championship 4, something he did twice before, after he learned a hard lesson last season.
"It is very difficult to do," Bell said. "We've seen where it doesn't happen very often, but I think it just comes down to the teams, and the great teams are able to do it.
"We saw (Ryan) Blaney do it at Martinsville last year, and they are clearly a good, title contending team. Joey essentially did it at Las Vegas. His likelihood of making it was not high if he didn't win that race. It can be done by good teams."
So will he be in this position again? Bell believes so. Sure, he hasn't won a race since Phoenix in March, but he and the No. 20 team have shown speed at a variety of tracks.
They also believe that this playoff schedule is their best opportunity to win a title. It includes four tracks where he has celebrated Cup Series wins -- Loudon, Charlotte Roval, Martinsville, and Phoenix.
It also includes Gateway and Darlington, two tracks where Bell has contended.
"I think this is probably our best year so far for a championship, just the way the schedule lays out," Bell said. "We know that. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) knows that. We are ready to take it to them."