Christopher Bell frustrated after mechanical issue tanks potential opportunity in Las Vegas

The stage was set for Christopher Bell to jump up the Chase standings with a strong finish on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

After the top two drivers in the Chase, Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin, both struggled in the opening stretch of the race, the potential was there for Bell to gain ground and elbow his way into championship contention with a win at the South Point 400.

Instead, Bell ran into issues of his own, and his potential run up the standings quickly turned into a muted move from fourth to third after finishing 23rd on the night.

Bell finished second in the first stage and third in the second stage, scoring strong points early, but ran into an issue with his power steering midway through the race. With limited control of his car, Bell couldn't battle through the final stage of the race as he had through the first two, and he was left with a far worse finish than he deserved.

After the race, Bell was clearly disappointed, and seemed somewhat at a loss for words when asked for his plan to put this one behind him as the No. 20 team gets ready for Charlotte next week.

"I don’t know. I think I’m done thinking about it. Just going to go out there and race," Bell said.

"Disappointing to not be able to capitalize on a day like today when other guys had issues, with the No. 5 having that pit stop issue, losing some stage points. The No. 11 had its issues. It looked like it was an opportunity to make up some points, and it didn’t happen. Just going to go out there and race. We’ve got five more, and we’ll try and win a couple."

As Bell's comments imply, it's going to be hard to look back on the missed opportunity that was up for grabs for the No. 20 team in Las Vegas.

While he is still well within the championship hunt, the early miscues from Larson and Hamlin were exactly what Bell needed to shake up the standings, and due to a steering issue that was completely out of his control, he was unable to deliver.

Watch: Race Rewind: Briscoe prevails in wild Las Vegas finish

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- The Motorsport.com Team