When a NASCAR fan thinks of Joe Gibbs Racing’s best driver, the usual names that come into mind are Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. However, neither of those two managed to make the final 4 in the last two seasons. The JGR driver who was able to do that was Christopher Bell.
And even though he may not be the favorite or the pick of many to win his first Cup title in Phoenix next Sunday, a big name from Hendrick Motorsports camp thinks Bell can get the job done. Steve Letarte, the former crew chief turned analyst for NBC, recently made the case for the JGR driver’s glory next weekend, citing the one factor that could be the big decider.
Steve Letarte makes the case for Christopher Bell winning on Sunday
Speaking in a recent conversation about next Sunday’s season-decider race at Phoenix, Letarte said of Christopher Bell, “If you look at the numbers, you would say he is not the favorite. Only 142 starts and 6 wins. But let’s not forget, 3 of these 6 wins came in the playoffs when it all mattered with all the pressure on the line.”
Letarte wondered what Bell, who is 28, learned from his trip to Phoenix last year, whether he was “a bit emotionally worn out” considering what it took for him to get to that place last year, which is completely different this year.
“This year, they won, they won early. I agree, execution is really the only question I have for Christopher Bell,” Letarte claimed.
“It really comes down to, can they put together the pit stops when it matters. I don’t know how many times we can talk about it, pit road, pit road, pit road, that’s the Achilles’ Heel, that’ll be the question mark.”
Joe Gibbs Racing made a big call for Bell ahead of the playoffs
As Steve Letarte mentioned, and as it has been mentioned countless times before, the biggest factor in the championship race on Sunday would be the battle of the pit road. This will also be the case for Christopher Bell, and luckily, his organization thought about that factor well in advance.
This is because before the start of the playoffs, back in August, Joe Gibbs Racing announced a swap between Bell’s pit crew and the pit crew of Ty Gibbs. At that point, Gibbs’ pit crew ranked third in the garage in terms of average time for a stop. And even though JGR could still allot the best pit crew members to Bell considering he’s their only driver in the championship contention, heading into Phoenix this weekend, his pit crew would want to aim a little higher than that, to be the best in the garage for the time when it all matters.
Or at least, if not the best of the bunch, then to be the best of the final 4.
