MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Christopher Bell is a man of few words. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver let’s his No. 20 Toyota make his statements on the race track.
When he was asked his prospects on winning Sunday’s NASCAR Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway and becoming the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Bell was simple and to the point.
“We are going to have a rocket ship,” Bell said. “I can’t wait to get out there.”
Bell advanced into the Championship 4 with a victory in the middle race of the three-race Round of 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. That took the pressure off the driver from Norman, Oklahoma in last Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
“Seventh is a good finish and I’m excited about carrying the momentum into Phoenix,” Bell said afterwards.
There is a good reason for that momentum and optimism.
Bell established himself as one of the best NASCAR drivers in the clutch, when it mattered the most, in 2022. He won two-straight elimination races to advance into the next round and ultimately the NASCAR Championship Race.
His victory in the 2022 Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was the only way he was going to advance into the Round of 8.
Three races later, Bell staved off elimination by winning the final elimination race of the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs with a victory in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville.
This season, Bell didn’t have to perform any heroics. He has had a solid. In the Round of 8, Bell finished second at Las Vegas and won at Homestead, so he was safely in the NASCAR Championship 4 with one race left in the round.
That laser focus and hitting his peak at the right time has been important in Bell’s career, according to team owner Joe Gibbs.
“I think the thing about Christopher is if you kind of notice what he’s been able to do, when he kind of gets to a point where he kind of looks at the latter part of the season, knowing how crucial the races are, it’s kind of where he steps up,” Gibbs said. “He did it last year. He did the same thing again this year.”
The challenge now is the be the highest finishing of the four NASCAR “Championship 4” drivers. Bell will contend with the Hendrick Motorsports duo of 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and this season’s winningest driver William Byron, and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney for the championship.
“I think there are four very excellent teams in the Playoffs. I don’t think many people have a particular favorite,” Gibbs said. “When you fight through the year that you have to go through, you think about all you got to do in NASCAR, all you got to accomplish, all the different tracks, the travel, the length of the season I think is a major deal. To go through all that and to wind up being in the Final 4, having a chance, it’s just really hard to do.
“We appreciate it. Gosh, I think everybody here at JGR is excited about the opportunity.”
This is the 10th season of the NASCAR Championship 4 format that created a “winner-take-all” championship race, for the most part. The NASCAR Playoff Era began in 2004 and endured several changes in format, before the current NASCAR Championship 4 format began in 2014 with Kevin Harvick winning the title in the NASCAR Championship Race.
As a two-time NFL Super Bowl Champion coach when the team was still known as the Washington Redskins, Gibbs has a full understanding of how a playoff system works.
Joe Gibbs Racing is the only team to have at least one driver in the NASCAR Championship Race since it began in 2014.
“I think it is extremely hard,” Gibbs explained. “Thank you for bringing that up.
“The thing that I kind of hate about our sport in a way, we have all the people here at our complex, and they really don’t get to be in winner’s circle. What we try to do on the day after we win, before our competition meeting, we put up a banner, we bring everybody in on the floor and we have a chance to have the driver talk to them, the crew chief. Obviously, I talk to them.
“It’s the total team effort. I think everybody that’s in this Final 4 or anybody that’s racing in NASCAR will tell you that it’s extremely hard.
“I always tell everybody; I was fortunate enough in football to win a Super Bowl the second year. When I came over to NASCAR, it was nine years before we were able to win a championship.
“That’s just an example of how hard it is. I think that’s the reason why the fans enjoy it. We appreciate our fans so much. But I think they enjoy knowing how hard it is. I think it’s hard to win a race. We see even the best young guys, when they come over, I think the average is somewhere around a hundred races before you can win a race.
“As fans we appreciate watching something that’s really, really hard, and having the people in it make it look easy.
“I think it’s the greatest reality show in the world.
“We’re just thrilled to be a part of it and love it.”