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HomeRacingBell's balancing act with NASCAR and his long-awaited return in 2025

Bell’s balancing act with NASCAR and his long-awaited return in 2025


After an exciting battle with kyle larsonToyota powered entry christopher bell Earned a win in the non-winged Outlaw Golden Driller at the Tulsa Shootout earlier this month. Triumphantly climbing out of his car, he yells, “I’ve got four words: Thanks Joe Gibbs!”

And he had plenty of reasons to be grateful. Bell, a three-time winner of the Chili Bowl Nationals and Turkey Night Grand Prix, was told by his team that he will not be allowed to compete in the dirt race in 2023. After a two-year hiatus, he is back and collecting trophies, but why was he marginalized to begin with?

“The majority of the company is passionate about and supportive of dirt track racing,” Bell said at a media discussion at the Chili Bowl earlier this week. “Joe has always been careful with it and he wants to make sure I stay healthy throughout my NASCAR career and any time you open it up to run other races, it’s risky. So I tell him “Trying to show maximum respect for my races and choose wisely and make sure I’m not taking anything away from my NASCAR Cup Series schedule.”

Coach Joe Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, Rheem Toyota Camry

Photo by: Nigel Kinrade/NKP/Motorsport Images

Bell also believes that dirt racing can “help me improve my Sunday (NASCAR) results and become a better racer.” The Toyota driver has made the Championship 4 twice in the last three seasons, but a Cup title still eludes him, while fellow dirt racing enthusiast Larson is consistent on the dirt and still manages to be one of the top drivers in all of NASCAR. Does.

Still, even in this return, don’t expect Bell to run the amount of events Larson is accustomed to. For example, the prestigious Knoxville Nationals is likely not on their schedule for 2025. And this isn’t an order from Coach Gibbs himself – just Bell being reasonable as he plans for the coming year.

“(Joe Gibbs) is really having a lot of confidence in me and our competitive group joe gibbs racing It will give me a little more freedom to have fun, making smart decisions and making sure I’m managing risk appropriately and running races that will benefit me as a driver. And Saturday races (like Knoxville) are going to be very, very difficult, if not impossible, for me because I don’t want to do anything that will keep me from performing at my peak on Sunday.”

An Indy 500 in Bell’s future?

On the subject of open-wheel cars, Motorsport.com’s Joey Barnes asked Bell about his Indy 500 aspirations and whether Gibbs would allow him to attempt ‘the greatest spectrum in racing’.

“Going back to what I said earlier, I want to respect Joe and not take advantage of what he’s giving me right now,” Bell said. “I feel like if I had raced the Indy 500, I wouldn’t have been able to give my maximum effort in our biggest race of the year in the Coca-Cola 600 (where Bell is the defending champion).

“I would never turn down the Indy 500. I would love to compete in it one day, but right now, there’s still a lot left on my NASCAR resume before I risk performing on a huge weekend in NASCAR.”

Also read:

in this article

Nick DeGroot

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