BRISTOL, Tenn. – NASCAR Xfinity Series standout Christopher Bell is grateful by the continued chatter about his potential future in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, but Bell is adamant he loves his current position.
“Honestly, I love these Xfinity cars,” Bell said Friday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway. “They’re a ton of fun to drive, and I sent Wayne [Auton, Xfinity Series managing director] a text this last week saying that I love the Xfinity rules package right now.
“I don’t know if it’s the small spoiler, the small splitter, whatever it is, but I feel like dirty air is not really that big of a deal in these cars. So, they’re a ton of fun to drive, and they’re a lot of fun to race.
The Joe Gibbs Racing standout is in his second full Xfinity Series season after winning the 2017 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship with Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Quickly maturing as a steady winner and often being sung the high praises from his competitor
for his driving ability, there has been speculation surrounding his future at the sports’ pinnacle level for nearly 14 months.
But the one question that clearly remains is where Bell fits in?
All four of JGR cars are taken by Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr and they don’t appear to looking for work anytime soon.
Busch, the 2015 Cup champion signed a contract extension in February, while Truex who won the title in 2017 with Furniture Row Racing joined the JGR fold at the start of 2019 with the demise of the Denver, Colorado-based team.
Hamlin has preached he’s going to be around “for a long time” with his current relationship with JGR and sponsor FedEx. And Erik Jones, the youngest driver in the fleet told NBC Sports on Thursday he’s working toward an extension.
“I never really pictured Erik (Jones) being my hole (into Cup) and if you look at the Gibbs camp right now, I can’t really picture anyone being my hole because all four cars are running exceptional,” added Bell.
“If you watch any of the races, all four of them are right in the top five, so I don’t know. I don’t know where I’m going to land. I’m just enjoying the ride right now.”
And of course, there’s the “satellite” JGR-affiliated Cup team of Leavine Family Racing with Matt DiBenedetto at the wheel. While the terms of DiBenedetto’s contract is tight-lipped and the performance not as stout as the JGR empire – the move to the No. 95 for Bell doesn’t seem kosher.
For now, Bell lets the gossip go in one ear and out the other. And, Bell admitted he has no control over the future and hasn’t been heard anything beyond 2019.
“It’s still early in the year,” he said. “Normally I don’t figure out where I land until August-ish. We’re definitely way early in the year to know where I’m going to be.”
Cup rumors or not, Bell also has an opportunity to pad his wallet with a $100,000 bonus on Saturday being one of the four Xfinity Series drivers eligible for the series’ Dash 4 Cash incentive.
“I don’t think it’s anything that we focus on early in the race,” Bell mentioned about the Dash 4 Cash. “Maybe late in the race if you’re not in position to win the race then you may adjust strategy to try and beat the other three competitors. Early in the race you’re just trying to go for the win.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
