Christopher Bell Q&A

‘We Have All the Pieces’

Q&A WITH CHRISTOPHER BELL BY DUSTIN ALBINO

From the moment Christopher Bell entered the Toyota driver pipeline, he was destined for superstardom – and he hasn’t disappointed.

Bell, now 27 years old and in his second NASCAR Cup Series season with Joe Gibbs Racing, has grown into his role with one of the sport’s Goliaths. Dating back to the end of the 2017 schedule when Bell joined JGR’s Xfinity Series program, there’s been an emphasis on getting the Oklahoma native to where he is now, contending inside the top 10 on a weekly basis.

During his first two Cup Series seasons, Bell scored just one victory, with it coming as a bit of a surprise on the Daytona International Speedway road course. In his first playoff run last year, the No. 20 team was bounced out after the second round.

Admittedly, Bell is still trying to find his footing at the Cup Series level, and he has leaned heavily on veteran JGR teammates Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. Particularly, he has a unique relationship with Busch, having driven for the two-time Cup Series champion’s team in the Camping World Truck Series.

Recently, Bell discussed being the first driver to win for Rheem in the Cup Series, having Busch as a teammate compared to a boss, his relationship with champion crew chief Adam Stevens and why it was important to give Rheem its first win at the Cup Series level.

HOW VALUABLE HAS THE PARTNERSHIP WITH RHEEM BEEN FOR YOU?

It’s really cool to be Rheem’s driver. I remember watching them; they’ve been in the sport for a long time. Being able to be their driver is really cool. I remember when (Joe Gibbs Racing) told me they were coming on board in the Xfinity Series and being able to represent an iconic brand like Rheem that I had been watching as a kid growing up. They’ve been with me for several years, and I’m very proud and grateful to be their figurehead.

LAST YEAR, YOU GOT RHEEM TO VICTORY LANE FOR THE FIRST TIME AT DAYTONA. HOW SPECIAL WAS DELIVERING THE COMPANY – WHICH HAS BEEN AROUND THE SPORT FOR 15 YEARS – ITS FIRST WIN?

That was cool, and they’ve had a lot of great drivers. To be the first one was really special, and I hope there are many more to come. Rheem has been one of my biggest supporters over my entire career. I love them and have a good relationship with all the Rheem (executives) and I hope we’re able to continue our partnership for a while.

THIS IS YOUR THIRD YEAR IN THE CUP SERIES. FROM YOUR ROOKIE SEASON, HOW HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR FOOTING AT THE TOP LEVEL OF THE SPORT?

I’m still struggling to be exactly where we want to be. Moving forward with (JGR) was a step in the right direction. I’ve got a great crew chief in Adam Stevens, I have a great team, with good mechanics and engineers with this No. 20 group.

We have all the pieces, it’s just a matter of putting it together. The Cup Series is very tough; everyone has good drivers, everyone has good crew chiefs and equipment, especially now with the Next Gen car. I think we’re in a good spot and I think I’ve matured as a driver from 2020 to where I’m at now. My whole Cup career has been very different, to say the least. Myself and all of the young guys moving up: Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer, we haven’t had an opportunity to get seat time outside of a race environment. Even this year is the first year we’ve had practice and qualifying, but it’s 20-minute sessions for most of the races.

WE’VE SEEN GUYS LIKE AUSTIN CINDRIC, CHASE BRISCOE AND ROSS CHASTAIN WIN EARLY THIS SEASON. HOW MUCH OF AN EQUALIZER HAS THE NEXT GEN CAR REALLY BEEN?

I think the strong teams are still strong, but you see a couple of the other teams that have improved tremendously, like Trackhouse. They’ve become one of the top organizations this year, and they really weren’t last year. I think it’s good for the sport. The only bad thing right now is, it’s putting the teams in a really big box and I can’t speak for an organization like Trackhouse or a team that doesn’t have as many cars, but at Gibbs, running four cars, they are under a tremendous amount of stress and pressure because we can’t get enough parts and pieces to have a four-car team like we have week in and week out. Hopefully, they can get the parts problem sorted pretty quick.

HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM TRUEX JR., HAMLIN AND BUSCH AS YOU CONTINUE TO GET ACCLIMATED TO THE CUP SERIES?

The biggest difference between a veteran and young guy in the sport is the ability to execute. That’s one of the hardest things in Cup racing because the races are so long. There are so many things that happen during a Cup race, that being there at the end of the race is a skill that is learned over time.

My teammates are great at it, and then I look at Kurt Busch, who has just come into the Toyota organization this year and he hasn’t had a ton of speed every week. But he’s up high in the points and had great finishes because he’s a veteran, done it long enough and he gets to the end of these races, has a couple of good restarts, and gets a good finish. Me, on the flipside, I feel like I’ve had more speed than Kurt, but I don’t get the finishes.

So just learning how to execute, putting it all together and getting good finishes at the end of the day is something you learn as a veteran.

THIS IS ALSO YOUR SECOND SEASON WITH STEVENS AS CREW CHIEF. HOW HAS THAT

RELATIONSHIP EVOLVED?

Last year, we had rocky moments where we started off strong, won early, and had a rough patch. I was struggling to communicate with him, he was struggling to get me what I needed in the race car.

This year, it seems like we’ve been strong week in and week out. We haven’t gotten the finishes, but that’s not relative to how we’ve been running. I’ve been really happy with our chemistry. It seems like he’s really figured out what I need in the race car and we’re showing up to the race track with the setup close enough for me to be competitive. And hopefully, I’m doing a better job communicating with him.

WHAT’S KYLE BUSCH LIKE AS A TEAMMATE COMPARED TO A BOSS?

Kyle is very much Kyle. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. He’s not twofaced at all; what you see is what you get. He’s very true, very real and I respect that about him. He’s been a big supporter of mine through the Truck Series, late model racing that I did at (Kyle Busch Motorsports). It’s been a transition phase from being boss/employee to now co-worker/teammate. Kyle has been one of my closest teammates.