“Christopher has really sacrificed on his way up,” Joe Gibbs said earlier this year. The No. 20 Toyota driver has dedicated his life to racing—even if that meant avoiding the limelight. However, even the media has not done justice to him. Over the past season, Christopher Bell has emerged as a solid contender for the 2024 championship title. Even after finishing runner-up to Kyle Larson’s Roval victory, C. Bell conceded the spotlight to Denny Hamlin (who finished 14th).

Currently occupying the 2nd rank in playoff points, Gibbs’ underrepresented star owns three wins, 21 top tens, and 13 top fives. So NASCAR’s seemingly deliberate avoidance of Bell looks odd and resembles the Netflix documentary’s move. However, even as Joe Gibbs Racing’s driver slips under the radar, he personally does not mind it.

NASCAR owes Christopher Bell more

Joe Gibbs always had an eye for talent. He has fielded Cup Series legends like Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex Jr. But while the latter two are trundling towards retirement, he has one other driver who can ride “for 20 years.” Christopher Bell, the 20-year-old Oklahoma speedster who won the Truck Series championship in 2017, has a lot of glittering achievements on his resume. For instance, he remains the only driver to have clinched a Championship 4 ticket in two seasons since the Next Gen car debuted. And that seems like a stark possibility in 2024 as well.

Yet NASCAR’s media spotlight is barely scratching the surface of his progress. After Larson picked up his 6th season win at the Charlotte Roval, he shifted the spotlight to Denny Hamlin as a threat. That was despite Christopher Bell‘s second-place finish—and now Bell will also lead the pack at Las Vegas. However, the No. 20 driver is not bothered, as journalist Jeff Gluck shared. “Christopher Bell was asked about flying under the radar and not having people talk about him and he said “I don’t care” several times. It’s definitely gonna be one of those clips you’ll see in your feeds soon.”

This is hardly the first time that Christopher Bell was given the pass in favor of his Cup Series rivals. For instance, the Netflix documentary ‘NASCAR: Full Speed’ featured some stellar NASCAR drivers ranging from Denny Hamlin to Joey Logano. But of course, C. Bell was missing, and the producer even admitted that he “was never in that plan.”

This lack of recognition concerned and enthralled 60-time Cup race winner Kevin Harvick. “I think Christopher Bell, from a performance standpoint, should be one of the favorites.” He added, “I’m just saying that I think his demeanor and the way that he approaches things is purely for racing. He just wants to drive the car and perform. He doesn’t want to create the chaos and excitement.”

Despite the concern, Christopher Bell does approach the camera whenever he wins something.

Bell continues to charge the front

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When Christopher Bell packs a milestone into his bag of goodies, he is ready for the camera again. For example, he dominated the New Hampshire race even after a rain delay. NASCAR stopped the race due to rain with 82 scheduled laps left. The officials resumed it after 2 hours and 15 minutes on wet-weather tires, which Bell used expertly. He gleefully explained to the media how rain turns the Next Gen car into a sliding, smooth marvel. “Whenever the track is damp, you’re able to slide the car around more and drive it hanging out more, drive it on the right rear more.”

Similarly, Christopher Bell earned the spotlight for this weekend in Las Vegas. He cranked out a lightning-quick 185.344 mph lap time in the qualifying session’s final round for the South Point 400. He wheeled the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE to a second-place finish last year and seems hopeful for a win this time.

Given his newest achievement, Joe Gibbs‘ star allowed himself a bit of media attention. “I feel really good,” C. Bell said about his No. 20 car. “I feel really comfortable. In practice, I don’t think the pace showed what we had, but inside the car, I felt super, super comfortable, so I know that we’re going to have a shot at it tomorrow.”

Evidently, even though the No. 20 speedster is avoiding camera flashes, he may just topple Kyle Larson’s streak of glory. Christopher Bell may win for the first time in Las Vegas, and we are all for it!