DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.— Christopher Bell used every opportunity and resource at his disposal to improve his superspeedway game.
He reviewed videos. Studied Denny Hamlin’s moves. Followed his veteran Joe Gibbs Racing teammates around the track and in the draft.
Prior to the 2023 Daytona 500, Bell had crashed in four of his previous six starts at the 2.5-mile track. But on Sunday, Bell led 20 laps and scored his first podium finish behind the wheel of the No. 20 Toyota.
“If you would have told me pre-race that I was going to run third, I would have jumped up and down and been smiling ear-to-ear,” Bell said. “I’m very happy. I’m very, very thankful that I could get this Rheem and DeWalt Toyota Camry a good solid finish, but just so close to a crown jewel.
Bell’s best finish at Daytona prior to Sunday was 13th in the 2020 summer race. In six starts at Talladega Superspeedway, the 28-year-old racer has just one top-five for his effort. But in the Duels on Thursday, Bell made a bold move on the last lap to finish second to Joey Logano in the first qualifier. He appeared to have something in reserve.
Bell lined up fifth for the Great American Race—actually the third time he had been in that position. He exhibited his muscle early on. Bell took the lead from Kyle Larson on Lap 13 for eight laps and again on Lap 24. He led for a third time on Lap 38 and then conserved his equipment for the end game.
Bell finished 10th in the second stage on L131. His only faux pas was running over his air hose when he pitted two laps later. Still, he remained calm during the exchange with his team, served his drive-thru penalty and lined up 28th for the final stage.
Following the final round of pit stops on Lap 179—and subsequent caution three laps later—Bell restarted 17th and began knocking off his fellow contenders one car at a time. He avoided a rash of wrecks over the final four laps and helped pushed Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to the win.
“I hate superspeedway racing,” Bell said. “It has been my Achilles heel for a number of years now. So, just running third at the Daytona 500 is a really big deal, and I’m sure tomorrow I will be really happy – but right now, I’m just bummed because I feel like we were in position there.”
Despite his disappointment in coming close to winning the race, Bell appreciates the momentum he’s carrying to the West Coast swing.
After a breakout season in 2022 where Bell won three races and advanced to the Championship 4, his crew chief Adam Stevens is thrilled with his driver’s progress.
“We had a really rough time at the speedways last year, to be honest,” Stevens said. “Sat on a couple of poles and couldn’t turn those into any points. We really dug into it during the offseason and studied ways to be better and have better race cars in the race and do a better job calling the race and running the race.”
“We had a good day and I think this is something we can build on for our speedway program.”
