In 2020, NASCAR drastically changed its approach to race weekends, cutting down from three 50-minute practice sessions to just two. Then COVID-19 forced the sport to rethink everything. Most events in 2020 and 2021 ran without practice or even qualifying. By 2022, NASCAR introduced a new 20-minute practice format, streamlining the process to save time and reduce costs for teams. It was efficient, but not everyone was sold on its value.

Fast forward to 2024, and Christopher Bell isn’t holding back his opinion. During a recent appearance on Dirty Mo Media, Christopher Bell shared his thoughts on the practice format, offering a candid perspective that raised a few eyebrows. His comments hint at deeper confidence in his team’s readiness and the current state of competition at Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR).

Christopher Bell questions NASCAR’s practice format

In a recent Dirty Mo Media interview, Christopher Bell openly expressed his frustration with NASCAR’s current practice format. The JGR driver referred to the 20-minute sessions as little more than a systems check. Bell emphasized how, for top-tier teams like JGR, practice offers no real value beyond ensuring the car’s basic functionality.

Christopher Bell explained that practice made sense during the early Next Gen era (2022) when teams were still learning the intricacies of the new car. However, with several races under their belts, teams have gathered enough data to know exactly how their cars will perform. “Now, how many have we got? what? We have six Daytona races now with the next-gen car. You know what you’re going to show up with,” Bell said, highlighting the limited necessity of these sessions.

For Bell, practice time has become redundant for teams that have already perfected their setups. “For my team (Joe Gibbs Racing) and my situation… ‘go ride around for a little bit and let me know when the temperature gauge comes on’. So, that’s literally what we did,” Bell joked, adding that his team used the session to ‘get the oil hot’. Bell acknowledged that the only purpose it serves now is to ensure no critical assembly mistakes were made during car preparation, which is rarely an issue for experienced teams. However, his Team Penske rival, Joey Logano is of the opposing view, claiming that practice is necessary for smaller teams to be able to compete.

The 20-minute practice format was introduced in 2022 to streamline race weekends and reduce costs. NASCAR’s goals included faster inspections, fewer required mechanics, and lower travel expenses. While these changes have benefitted smaller teams, Bell’s comments reflect the growing frustration among top drivers who feel that practice no longer contributes to performance or strategy development.

For the 2025 season, group practice sessions will now be extended from 20 to 25 minutes. Additionally, select events will feature even longer practice windows. For instance, the NASCAR Cup Series weekend at Circuit of The Americas will include two 20-minute practice sessions, providing teams with more opportunities to fine-tune their setups. Despite Christopher Bell’s call to end the practice format, NASCAR is heading in the opposite direction by expanding it.

With longer sessions and more track time, it’s clear NASCAR sees value where Bell does not.

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Bell had drivers who agreed but for polar opposite reasons

Christopher Bell isn’t alone in his critique of NASCAR’s current practice format. Fellow driver Michael McDowell also advocates for eliminating practice altogether. “I wish we didn’t have practice at all,” McDowell admitted in 2023. However, his view is that bigger teams gain an advantage from more practice. He added, “I think any time that they give us more time to practice, the bigger teams do a better job of maximizing their car potential and setup.”

Despite smaller teams doing well at Daytona in recent years with Michael McDowell winning the race in 2021 for Front Row Motorsports, he feels practice is unnecessary. Powerhouse teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske have that edge in terms of time and resources, while smaller teams don’t, making practice more valuable to them. A completely contrasting view to Bell.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. shares a similar viewpoint in 2023, questioning the necessity of practice sessions for bigger teams. According to Stenhouse, the feel of the car doesn’t change much from track to track, which means teams already know the setup direction they want. He also feels more practice only helps the bigger teams collect more data. “If you start stretching that out, the big teams definitely start collecting more data on a weekend,” he said to FOX Sports.

For drivers like Bell, McDowell, and Stenhouse, scrapping practice altogether could simplify race weekends while keeping costs down and reducing risks, albeit for varying reasons. However, with NASCAR’s recent decision to ban private testing and penalize it while expanding practice sessions in 2025, their wish for shorter weekends seems less likely to come true.