Christopher Bell was so close to winning his first career Brickyard 400. On Sunday afternoon, Bell finished in second place to Corey Heim in the 2026 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver wasn't able to pass Heim despite having a better car in the final run.
Following the event, Bell spoke about his second-place finish at Indianapolis. While it was a disappointing loss, it was a good effort day by the No. 20 team.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be able to get there at all," Bell said. "My guys were telling me (Corey Heim) was going loose and I knew that really that was going to be my only opportunity was going to be a mistake from him. I just needed one bobble. If he would have had one bobble, I was going to be able to get there.
He did a great job. He showed excellent mental toughness and put together 35 really good laps, and I didn’t have the opportunity."
COREY HEIM WINS THE BRICKYARD 400 FOR 23XI RACING 🤯 pic.twitter.com/eoiUp6h974
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 26, 2026
"This is a good second place. We’ve had a lot of bad second-place finishes, but this one is a good one. We were buried after qualifying. Adam did a great job with strategy to get us up there. Just proud of Adam, proud of this team. We pulled together a really good day. We’ve run second a lot. There’s been bad seconds, but this was a pretty good day.”
Bell finished in second place for the sixth time during the 2026 NASCAR season without a victory. The No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing has been fast, but Bell hasn't been able to land in the winner's circle. Now, Bell will focus on Iowa Speedway in two weeks to win his first Cup Series race of the 2026 Cup Series campaign.
This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Christopher Bell talks about heartbreaking loss in 2026 Brickyard 400
