Tag: Christopher Bell

Briscoe weighs in on Bell’s ‘pretty funny’ loose lips

Chase Briscoe was as shocked as everyone else when Christopher Bell accidentally blurted out his future teammate’s name Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “I thought that it changed a lot of things, I think, in the silly season,” Briscoe said. …

Chase Briscoe was as shocked as everyone else when Christopher Bell accidentally blurted out his future teammate’s name Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“I thought that it changed a lot of things, I think, in the silly season,” Briscoe said.

“I need to call [Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick] now that the No. 9’s opened up! It changes a lot of things. That’s a domino that nobody really saw coming.”

He was joking, of course.

Bell accidentally let slip that he’d be joined by “Chase” when asked about leadership roles at Joe Gibbs Racing. In doing so he was referring to Briscoe — the favorite to replace retiring Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Toyota — not Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott. But without an official announcement, Briscoe and others have been having fun with the news.

Elliott’s teammate, Kyle Larson, quickly joked that he was leaving after Bell’s flub. Briscoe was busy racing a sprint car next door at The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and didn’t chime in, but when he arrived for qualifying on Saturday the Hoosier was quickly asked for his take on Bell’s silly season spoiler.

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“I just kind of laughed at it; I thought it was pretty good,” Briscoe said. “Typical Christopher. It was pretty funny.

“I mean, I [feel] like everybody kind of knows what’s going on, right? I don’t know. I think the official announcement — whenever that is — hopefully we can have something official soon, but I wasn’t really mad at it. It was kind of funny, I thought.”

Landing at Joe Gibbs Racing is a big break for Briscoe, who could have been left on the outside looking in with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) closing shop at season’s end. Three of the team’s four charters are expected to be sold, with the fourth being kept by current co-owner Gene Haas for a slimmed down operation called Haas Factory Team.

With veteran Kevin Harvick now retired, Briscoe is arguably SHR’s best driver. The 29-year-old currently leads the company at 17th in the championship standings, four spots ahead of rookie Josh Berry and well clear of Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece. He’s also the only driver on the team with a Cup win, having prevailed at Phoenix Raceway in 2022 to clinch a playoff berth he parlayed to a gritty Round of 8 run.

Should he take over the No. 19 Toyota as planned, Briscoe will arrive at a team with greater expectations. Truex has earned 15 wins and made two Championship 4 appearances in the past five years. He won the regular season title just last year.

Chase Briscoe reacts to Christopher Bell leaking the Joe Gibbs Racing news

Chase Briscoe reacts to his close friend Christopher Bell leaking the news about Joe Gibbs Racing. What did Briscoe say about Bell?

[autotag]Christopher Bell[/autotag] may have accidentally revealed Joe Gibbs Racing’s next driver. On Friday afternoon, Bell slipped up and mentioned Chase Briscoe when discussing the leadership aspect at [autotag]Joe Gibbs Racing[/autotag] following Martin Truex Jr.’s retirement. The driver of the No. 20 car couldn’t believe he made that mistake, as his face turned red in 30 seconds.

Following Bell’s press conference, Frontstretch spoke to Briscoe and asked for his reaction to the slip-up. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was unsure what had happened as he had no signal but talked through it with Frontstretch.

“To be honest with you, I still haven’t seen it because I have no signal here. [Christopher Bell] texted me before we went for a hot lap and said, ‘Chase, I’m sorry, I messed up really bad.’ But I haven’t gotten to see any of it yet, I can’t get nothing to load. I can’t get a text to send or nothing, so I’m sure when I get back after tonight, I’ll get blown up pretty bad, but yeah, typical Christopher (laughs).”

Briscoe and Bell are close friends, and it seems that the latter is excited about his new potential teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing. Briscoe didn’t confirm or deny Bell’s slip-up during his press conference, but he has been linked as the top candidate to replace Truex in 2025. Everything points to the direction of Briscoe joining Joe Gibbs Racing, which would be amazing for his career.

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Christopher Bell accidentally reveals Chase Briscoe joining Joe Gibbs Racing

Christopher Bell accidentally reveals that Chase Briscoe will join Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025. Find out what Bell accidentally said!

[autotag]Chase Briscoe[/autotag] has been linked to [autotag]Joe Gibbs Racing[/autotag] ever since Martin Truex Jr. announced he would retire from the NASCAR Cup Series, but an announcement hasn’t come yet. Well, that was until [autotag]Christopher Bell[/autotag] arrived at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for his press conference on Friday afternoon. The cat has accidentally been let out of the bag.

The driver of the No. 20 car was asked if his leadership role with Joe Gibbs Racing will increase as Truex steps away as a full-time driver. Bell talked about his role and accidentally revealed the new driver of the No. 19 car.

“I don’t think that there really is a leadership role in that aspect,” Bell said. “Whenever [Chase Briscoe] comes into the ca-…Whenever, som-, whenever. I don’t even know what to say. Whenever we have a new driver into the No. 19 car. Whenever we have a new driver into the No. 19 car, whoever that is, their experience level will dictate how much input they have in the team.”

Oh, Bell! The Joe Gibbs Racing driver laughed, and his face turned red after accidentally saying “Chase” in the press conference. Nothing is official from Joe Gibbs Racing, but it appears Bell revealed that one of his closest friends will join him as a teammate. Briscoe joining Joe Gibbs Racing would be massive for his career.

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Christopher Bell has shocking odds for Xfinity race at New Hampshire in 2024

Christopher Bell has shocking odds to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire. What are Bell’s odds for the Sci Apps 200?

[autotag]Christopher Bell[/autotag] will drive the No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and the field should be scared. Bell has won all three Xfinity Series starts at New Hampshire and will look for his fourth straight victory. Heading into Loudon, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s odds to win are mindblowing.

As of Thursday, DraftKings lists Bell as the favorite to win the Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire with -110 odds. Negative odds are almost unheard of in NASCAR, as the field is so close together and doesn’t have an obvious winner weekly. This only shows how well Bell has run at New Hampshire, and the statistics back it up.

Bell led at least 93 laps in all three Xfinity Series races in New Hampshire. He has also led 430 of the 600 laps across those events, with the lowest driver rating at 143.1 in his rookie season. These are mind-boggling statistics for a driver in one of NASCAR’s top levels. Anyone who wants to win at New Hampshire this weekend must go through Bell and Joe Gibbs Racing.

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Christopher Bell discusses ‘mixed emotions’ after fourth-place finish at Iowa

Christopher Bell discusses his mixed emotions after a solid finish at Iowa Speedway. Find out what Bell said about coming up short at Iowa!

[autotag]Christopher Bell[/autotag] unloaded as the best car during practice at Iowa Speedway, but he blew a tire in the middle of the session. Bell was forced to start in the rear with a backup car and clawed his way to the top 4 spots before NASCAR threw a questionable caution. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver lost all of his track position and had to push again for a fourth-place finish.

Following the event, Bell spoke about his fourth-place finish at Iowa with Jayski and while he was proud about the No. 20 team’s resiliency throughout the weekend, there was mixed emotions about his day.

“A top five is a good day,” Bell said. “Obviously, we had pace to be a lot better than that, so that’s why I’m sitting here mixing emotions. Great effort, and if we keep bringing cars like that, hopefully it will be our day one of these times. It was a rocket ship on the long run. Everything I needed. I don’t know how much faster I was, but I couldn’t see the leaders and then all of a sudden, I could see them later on.”

Bell likely would have been in a better position to win without the sketchy caution by NASCAR and if he wasn’t forced to start in the rear. Yet, it is good that Bell is disappointed with a fourth-place finish in a backup car. The No. 20 team has a very high ceiling and the speed has been fantastic lately. Bell is starting to heat up with summer underway and more wins are likely coming.

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Adam Stevens calls out NASCAR for ‘ridiculous’ caution at Iowa in 2024

Adam Stevens calls out NASCAR for ‘ridiculous’ caution at Iowa in 2024. Don’t miss out on Stevens’ massive rant about NASCAR’s decision!

[autotag]Christopher Bell[/autotag] had one of the best cars at Iowa Speedway, but it was an up-and-down weekend. Bell had the best car in practice before blowing a tire and being forced into a backup car. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver climbed through the field, only to be setback by a very questionable caution from NASCAR. Bell rebounded but finished in fourth place as the fastest car in the Final Stage.

During the race at Iowa, Bell’s crew chief, [autotag]Adam Stevens[/autotag], was very, very unhappy with NASCAR’s decision to throw a caution, causing the No. 20 car to lose all of its track position. NBC Sports had audio of Stevens’ frustration, and it seems warranted.

“That was the most ridiculous [expletive] caution I’ve ever [expletive] seen in my life,” Stevens said. “You had 17 guys blow tires and you have one guy blow another tire and you throw the [expletive] caution. That’s [expletive].”

Bell eventually found his way to the top-5 spots, but it could’ve been much better. Following the event, Bell said it was easy to pass when he had a competitive car. If the driver of the No. 20 car had better track position, he wouldn’t have fallen so far on the short runs. Instead, Iowa will be a big “what if” for Bell after having the best car on the final green-flag run.

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Christopher Bell, other drivers bash NASCAR’s repave at Iowa in 2024

Christopher Bell and other drivers bash NASCAR’s repave at Iowa Speedway in 2024. Find out what Bell had to say about the repave at Iowa!

Iowa Speedway will look different when NASCAR finally gets on the race track this weekend. NASCAR decided to repave Iowa but didn’t have enough time for a full process. Therefore, the bottom and middle lanes were partially repaved while the top lane remained untouched. This will essentially make the top lane unusable, ruining the previous version of Iowa.

[autotag]Christopher Bell[/autotag], who competed in the NextGen tire test at Iowa in May, talked about the repave and didn’t give a glowing review. Bell has a lot of experience at Iowa in the Xfinity Series, so he knows what it used to race like before the repave.

“I mean, it just completely ruined the corners, and it’s gonna make it a one-groove race track,” Bell said. “They’ve been telling us that for a year, ever since they announced that Iowa was gonna be on the Cup schedule. NASCAR was informing us that they were gonna do, they told us patch jobs. Then, repaving the bottom half of the corners is gonna make it where the top half is completely unusable.”

Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, and many others were also confused about the repave. Harvick called it “one of the biggest F-ups in the whole year.” It is great that NASCAR is returning to Iowa, but the expectations shouldn’t be set to previous races at the venue. The partial repave will surely make the top lane a wasteland, but hopefully, there will still be passing this weekend.

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Christopher Bell to run Xfinity race with Joe Gibbs Racing at New Hampshire

Christopher Bell will run the NASCAR Xfinity Series race with Joe Gibbs Racing at New Hampshire, looking for his fourth win in four starts.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series field is being put on notice. [autotag]Christopher Bell[/autotag] is listed as the driver of the No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend, according to the NASCAR Roster Portal. Bell, who runs full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, has made three Xfinity Series starts at New Hampshire, resulting in three victories.

The driver of the No. 20 car has led at least 93 laps in all three Xfinity Series races in New Hampshire. Bell has also led 430 of the 600 laps across those events, with the lowest driver rating at 143.1 in his rookie season. Bell’s last Xfinity Series start at New Hampshire was in 2021, where he started 14th but eventually swept all three stages en route to his third straight victory.

Toyota has won seven of the last eight Xfinity Series races at New Hampshire, which is staggering dominance at “The Magic Mile.” Bell has won in all three series at New Hampshire and always comes to the venue as a favorite. Anything less than a victory would be a disappointment as Bell looks to earn his fourth Xfinity Series win in four starts at New Hampshire.

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Christopher Bell discusses shocking engine issues at Gateway in 2024

Christopher Bell discusses his engine issues at Gateway in June 2024. Find out what Bell said about his disappointing defeat!

[autotag]Christopher Bell[/autotag] won the first two stages in the NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway and had the car to beat. Bell was on the verge of passing Ryan Blaney for the lead in the closing laps but suddenly dropped off the pace with engine issues. It was a shocking development for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who finished in seventh place.

Following the event, Bell climbed from his dominant No. 20 car on pit road and was asked about the engine issues and Martin Truex Jr. pushing him on the straightaways with a lack of power.

“I mean, I have no idea what happened,” Bell said. “Some sort of motor issue. I’m surprised that I made it to the end. Glad we were able to salvage something out of it. You don’t get race cars like that very often. Whenever you do, you need to take advantage of it. Disappointing day…[Martin Truex Jr. pushing us on the straightaways] was awesome. He’s probably saved us a top 10 out of the day. Martin is a standup guy.”

Bell struggled in April but has been very good in the last two races. The driver of the No. 20 car could’ve easily won two straight events and has earned nine playoff points in those races. Bell and the No. 20 team are disappointed about the finish, but the speed is overwhelmingly positive and could be the true pace of the car moving forward.

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Bell’s dominant day at WWTR undone by engine woes

It was Christopher Bell’s race to lose. Fresh off his rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 win, Bell arrived at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway with the strongest car in the field. On a day when others were struggling to pass on the tight, …

It was Christopher Bell’s race to lose.

Fresh off his rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 win, Bell arrived at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway with the strongest car in the field. On a day when others were struggling to pass on the tight, 1.25-mile oval, Bell could roll the bottom and march forward.

The Oklahoman proved dominant from the opening run, rising from fourth to the lead on lap 41 and taking the opening stage. Evolving strategies and a timely cautions made Stage 2 interesting, but Bell again marched forward and rose back to the lead when it counted to score another playoff point.

In the final stage Bell seemed poised to do it again, chasing down Ryan Blaney for the net lead amid the final round of pit stops. Blaney had taken the lead by staying out after Bell and others pitted during the stage breaks. The alternative strategies left Bell with fresher tires and the strongest car as the laps wound down.

Bell chased Blaney down as the race crept under 30 to go. He then set about methodically working his way past the defending champion, diving under the No. 12 repeatedly and even clearing Blaney once before a crossover netted Blaney back the top spot.

The Penske car was holding onto the top spot for dear life, with it seemed only a matter of time before Bell would take the lead and sweep the stages.

When it counted, Bell caught a bad break. He began to slow, then radioed his team with terrible news.

“I’m blowing up,” he said. “I’m blowing up. Game over.”

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From there, all he could worry about was survival. He limped around the 1.25-mile oval, minimizing shifts and trying to keep his car alive to the finish.

Along the way Bell got an unlikely assist. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr., whose day had been undone by a flat tire that left him multiple laps down, caught Bell’s sick No. 20 and slotted in behind him. The 2017 champ started pushing Bell down the straights, helping him limp through the closing laps.

With Truex’s help, Bell made it to the checkered flag in seventh. Damage mitigated.

“That was awesome,” Bell said. “I think [Truex] probably saved us a top 10 out of the day. Martin’s a standup guy.”

Bell ultimately ended up with a positive day. He secured two playoff points and a heavy point total that will help him gain ground in the regular season standings. The two-time Championship 4 qualifier knew it should have been so much more, though.

“I’m glad that we were able to salvage something out of it, but you don’t get race cars like that very often,” Bell said. “Whenever you do, you need to take advantage of them, so that’s a disappointing day.”