Christopher Bell kept things brief when asked about why longtime spotter Steve Reeves abruptly left his role as Bell’s eyes in the sky after Bell’s win last weekend in the NASCAR All-Star Race.
Advertisement
No one at Joe Gibbs Racing, Bell included, has talked much about Reeves’ sudden departure after serving as Bell’s spotter since his NASCAR Cup debut in 2020.
“I was surprised as well,” Bell said. “It was all Stevie’s decision. He made the decision on his own to quit and that’s all I’m going to say.”
Starting with Sunday’s grueling Coca-Cola 600, Reeves will be replaced by Matt Philpott — a relatively inexperienced spotter who has worked with several drivers across the NASCAR Trucks and Xfinity Series, including Joey Gase Motorsports and Reaume Brothers Racing, and briefly with Martin Truex Jr. in this year’s season-opening Daytona 500.
“I haven’t driven for Matt (Philpott),” Bell said at the pre-race press conference. “He doesn’t have a ton of spotting experience.” Because of that lack of experience, Bell was with Philpott during Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, essentially doing a practice dry run on how Philpott spots.
“We had a really good exercise this week doing an iRace with him spotting me, and I felt like that was really good to learn his language and what he means when he says certain things,” Bell said. “We went through a couple of different items. I wanted something a little bit different.”
“The team wanted something a little bit different, so I thought the iRacing experience was really good, and hopefully, we get a little bit closer during the Xfinity race. But I’m sure it will be a period of time, through many races, before we are fully in sync,” Bell added.
In any case, Bell and Philpott are not total strangers. Philpott has worked at JGR as a mechanic, primarily for Denny Hamlin but also for a few times for Bell. But there is certainly a different dynamic when a driver has a different voice in his ear while driving around the racetrack.
“Clearly, there is not a ton of options out there with everybody having jobs and continuing on through the season, so there weren’t a ton of guys out there. Nothing against Philpott, but he wouldn’t have been high on the list with his experience level if we weren’t in this situation.” Bell said.
He went on to clarify, “But with that being said, he is trying to get into the spotter scene, and it made sense to go that direction.” Bell noted that Philpott had already gained a foothold within Joe Gibbs Racing by spotting for Martin Truex Jr. in the Daytona 500. He concluded by saying about Philpott, “I think it is important to say — he’s doing us a favor. We are not doing him a favor.”
Bell won’t be the only driver with a new spotter this weekend. In a separate situation, since longtime spotter TJ Majors is recovering from a medical procedure, Brad Keselowski will have Todd Brewer atop Charlotte Motor Speedway.
