There is growing optimism around Christopher Bell and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team as they prepare for their pursuit of the NASCAR Cup Series championship. Despite starting strong with three consecutive victories early in the season, Bell and his crew have not returned to victory lane since those wins.
Bell spoke about his outlook heading into the playoffs during a media event in Charlotte. He explained that he had recently asked crew chief Adam Stevens about whether there was any cause for concern given their recent results. Bell stated, “I’ve actually asked Adam that because I got a little bit concerned about it a couple weeks ago (…)” and continued, “He said, ‘look, we are not doing anything different than when we won three races in a row earlier in the season.’ We have a great team; a great process and we’re going to keep after it and have some great racetracks for us. I think we have all the tools we need to go out there, execute and win races, and hopefully we can do that.”
Bell has previously advanced to the final four under NASCAR’s NextGen platform, although last year a penalty prevented what would have been his third straight appearance in the final round. Reflecting on his trio of early season wins at Atlanta, Circuit of the Americas, and Phoenix, Bell acknowledged good fortune but also noted limited laps led at those events.
“It went our way and we were able to capitalize on it (…),” Bell said. “…It comes and goes in this sport, and it’s been tough sledding here through the summer months, but I’m excited for what comes ahead of us.”
Stevens has maintained confidence that Bell could repeat his earlier performance during the postseason stretch. “Absolutely,” Bell said. “Any week. Any week. It could happen. It could happen this week at Darlington. It could happen any week.”
Bell highlighted several tracks in the playoff schedule where he believes he can compete strongly: “We’ve been really close at Darlington but haven’t won yet (…) The playoffs are littered with tracks like that — Darlington, Kansas, Vegas and Gateway. All these places where we’ve been super strong but just haven’t won. It could happen this week and it could happen next week.”
Bell concluded by expressing confidence in his current position: “This year is my best year for a championship (…) I know that. Adam knows that. I’m ready to take it to him.”
