Christopher Bell opened the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season with incredible momentum, winning three races in a row at Atlanta, Circuit of the Americas, and Phoenix Raceway. The streak immediately established him as one of the drivers to beat early in the year and marked one of the most impressive starts in recent memory. The 2026 campaign, however, has been a different story for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
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It has turned into a grind where runs inside the top five or top ten have slipped through Bell’s fingers. He currently stands 24th in the standings with 59 points. The JGR No. 20 car has shown pace, yet early trouble has left the team digging out of a hole in the points race.
Crew chief Adam Stevens, however, believes the group has not lost its footing. Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Stevens said the focus inside the No. 20 garage has been on keeping performance and results in two lanes.
Stevens said, “You have those conversations every Monday and ongoing through the week. And what’s important, though, is to separate the performance from the results. And if the performance is there, the results will come around.”
“And like we talked about, the sample of tracks to start the season is a little quirky and prone to misfortune. So we don’t feel like we’re suffering for performance at any of the three tracks we’ve really been to.
“We’re just suffering for results, and hopefully the law averages will kick in here eventually, and maybe we can have some cleaner weekends and climb up there, but we’re not hitting the panic button yet, but we’re certainly paying attention,” Bell’s crew chief added.
With all four @JoeGibbsRacing drivers outside the top 16 in points three races into the season, should the organization be worried?
Adam Stevens doesn’t think so:
“We don’t feel like we’re suffering for performance.”
More → https://t.co/WGRTG5gnEd pic.twitter.com/xeBp6ukadS
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) March 6, 2026
At Daytona International Speedway, Bell ran inside the top ten with fewer than ten laps left before the race turned on its head. Contact from behind sent his car into trouble, leaving him to limp home in 35th place after running near the front.
The next stop at Atlanta Motor Speedway brought more trouble. During an overtime restart, Bell lined up on the front row when contact from Carson Hocevar pushed his No. 20 Toyota into the wall, turning his shot at the front into another race that slipped away. His day eventually ended with Bell finishing in 21st place.
Bell finally caught a break at Circuit of the Americas. When a late caution flew, the team gambled on fresh tires, which allowed Bell to storm from 16th to third, slicing through the field before the checkered flag. The run placed him on the podium and brought home 34 points, lifting him seven spots in the standings.
Through three races, Bell holds an average finish of 19.667 and an average start of 17.3. The numbers may not tell the whole story yet, but recent runs suggest the team could soon turn the corner as the season moves from one track to the next.
