Following his three straight wins to open the regular season at Atlanta, COTA, and Phoenix, Christopher Bell has gone 22 races without another trip to victory lane. Yet in that span, he stacked up six top-fives, 11 top-10s, and four runner-up finishes, showing the No. 20 Toyota still carries speed even without the trophies. Bell intends to roll that momentum straight into the playoffs.
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In a recent appearance on WIS News 10, Bell reflected on his season and what lies ahead. He said it clearly started strong, recalling how at the Daytona 500, he was out front in the closing laps before being collected in a crash. Still, he admitted the thrill of leading late in NASCAR’s crown jewel, then backing it up with wins at Atlanta, Phoenix, and COTA, made him proud and convinced him they were headed for big things.
As the summer unfolded, it became a grind of near-misses, with top-fives sprinkled in but not enough chances to truly battle for wins week after week. He conceded the inconsistency has been frustrating, though his runner-up at Watkins Glen added another spark of confidence.
That’s why, “Hopefully it’s leading us with some momentum into the playoffs, and it starts off at the Southern 500 (at) Darlington Raceway. It’s a great racetrack for me. I was actually looking at my stats the other day, and they aren’t very impressive from Darlington, but it’s certainly a track that I love going to, and I feel like we could win at any moment at that racetrack,” Bell stated.
JGR Director of Competition shows confidence in Bell’s No. 20 team
Meanwhile, JGR’s Director of Competition, Chris Gabehart, also cautioned rivals against underestimating Bell. Speaking on Motor Racing Network with Steve Post and Todd Gordon, Gabehart said, “I mean, they (Bell and his crew chief, Adam Stevens) are explosive.”
He emphasized that the No. 20 group has repeatedly shown the ability to heat up at the right time and seize opportunities week after week. Although the team has endured a race drought without a win, Gabehart stressed that the performance has remained intact.
He pointed to Watkins Glen, where Bell finished second, and highlighted JGR’s road course strength overall: a victory at COTA and runner-up efforts across the board, with Bell supplying two of those. At Dover, Bell appeared on the cusp of victory before spinning while trying to pass a teammate, a costly mistake that still reflected his respect on the track.
That is why Gabehart insists the performance is present, even if the results have not fully reflected it. In his view, the No. 20 team simply needs to stay the course, and success will follow.
