Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell has been one of the best drivers in the 2025 Cup Series season thus far. He has three wins across the first sixteen races and sits third on the points table, only behind William Byron and Kyle Larson. One of the biggest reasons for his consistent success in stock car racing is his extracurricular stint on dirt tracks.
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Bell’s roots in motorsports can be traced back to dirt tracks and sprint car races similar to Larson’s. Thanks to the support of Joe Gibbs, he has continued racing part-time in them along with his full-time role as the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE driver. In a recent interview with Jeff Gluck, he spoke about just how important this other facet of his career is.
He said, responding to a question that Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez had asked him through Gluck, that he has raced in ten dirt races so far in 2025 and that he will end up racing in 20 or 30. He continued, “Do I think running a dirt car directly helps running a Sunday Cup car? I do not. But it is a great mental reset to just get away from the grind of the Cup Series.”
While he doesn’t understand the reasoning behind it, he does admit that racing well in a sprint car helps him race better in a stock car and vice versa. The biggest purpose behind his detours on dirt tracks is to relax when he isn’t having a good weekend on the ovals. He values the distraction it offers and explained that in detail.
“I don’t know how many times throughout my career, you have a bad Sunday, you debrief on Monday, and then you’re off Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, just stewing on your mistake or your bad race,” he said. “If you have something during the week to go out and put your focus on something else, it helps to break that mental slide.”
Bell won in the Non-Wing Outlaw division of the 2025 Tulsa Shootout by beating Larson in a photo finish. He also won the annual Chili Bowl Race of Champions, an invite-only event that involves some of the biggest superstars in the dirt racing world.
Judging from his admission that he will be racing a lot more this year, Bell is only going to secure many more such prestigious victories. And if he keeps this up, it will only boost his chances of becoming a Cup Series champion.
