Christopher Bell had speed in Mexico City as he pulled double duty during the Cup and Xfinity Series races. He left without a win, something he attributed to the driver instead of the car.
Bell, a three-time road course winner, said that he just didn't have enough to contend for the win in either race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, and that was before an engine failure ended his Xfinity race.
"I would love to say a different setup, but I think it was more driver," Bell said after finishing second in the Cup Series race. "This weekend both races between the Xfinity car and the Cup car. I was good; just not good enough. I was kind of -- I lacked a little bit.
"The fact that I was a little bit off in both of them, I think I just need to work on myself a little bit, figure out what Shane (van Gisbergen) was doing through a couple sections of the racetrack, and my guys have been bringing really good road course cars for a long time now. If we come back, I'd probably bring something pretty close and try and drive a little bit better and see if I can close the gap on him."
Bell did not qualify well in Mexico City. He only had one opportunity to post a lap as rain shortened the session by 17 minutes. He lined up 31st, but he worked his way up to eighth in only 10 laps while racing in wet conditions.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver did not score points in stage 1 due to strategy, but he locked up nine points in stage 2. He and stage winner Shane van Gisbergen both stayed out as rain threatened to fall once again at the track.
Bell took the lead to start the final stage, and it appeared that he would have an opportunity to challenge van Gisbergen for the win. He led three laps, but he could not hold off the eventual race-winner, who muscled by in the stadium section of the track.
SVG sees an opportunity and strikes!
The No. 88 is back out front. pic.twitter.com/KDtyUDplCJ
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 15, 2025
"The rain, I was super excited about it at the beginning of the race," Bell said. "I didn't qualify very good, so starting in the back, the rain really opened up the opportunity to gain some positions, and we were able to use that to get ourselves to the front.
"That was very rewarding and beneficial to my race, and then once the track dried out, it was just a matter of comparing yourself to the guys up front. I don't know, I got the lead at one point and Shane was clearly faster than me and drove back by. Yeah, just close but not good enough."
While Bell could not hold off the former Supercars driver in the final stage, he was able to work past Alex Bowman to take second place. He just could not erase the 16.5-second deficit. He had to settle for a runner-up finish, which marked his seventh top-five finish of the season.