Christopher Bell Spills the Beans on Secret Ritual Passed Down by Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch

It is only with a spirited culture and timely acknowledgment that NASCAR teams can keep their drivers motivated. In today’s world where criticism comes so easily, timely appreciation in the right form is equally necessary. NASCAR driver Christopher Bell won the race in Bristol a couple of weeks back. Following his win, he shares an old tradition carried out at Joe Gibbs Racing that few are aware of.

Some of the finest drivers in the sport have driven for JGR. Over the years, the likes of Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and many others have helped the team become a NASCAR Cup Series giant. Naturally, there has to be something that the Joe Gibbs-owned team is doing right.

Christopher Bell shares the secret ritual historically carried out at Joe Gibbs Racing

It was only in 2021 that Christopher Bell joined Joe Gibbs Racing in the Cup Series. Prior to that, he just had a year’s experience with Leavine Family Racing at the top level. However, it was with JGR that he registered his first win and has been going on strongly since.

His recent triumph at Bristol Motor Speedway was his fifth in the Cup Series. In fact, Bell has 26 top-five and 49 top-ten finishes to his name so far. Given his trajectory and capabilities, the 28-year-old can achieve bigger things with time. However, one thing that will definitely keep him motivated is JGR’s ritual carried out after every win.

Bell recently spoke on several topics at the motorsports show SpeedFreaks. During the show, the #20 driver explains the ritual carried out on the Monday after every race wins at JGR. He says, “They [JGR] have what they call a banner ceremony. For anyone that hasn’t been to Joe Gibbs Racing, up on the top of the race shop, there’s a banner for every single win that the company’s had.

So, I think it’s at like 1:30 in the afternoon or something like that, right after lunch. Everyone gathers there and the winning driver gets to go up and raise a banner.” Interestingly, there is no particular target or competition for the number of banners among the drivers.

However, Bell explains how it is a matter of pride and encouragement for every racer. He said, “There’s not really a prize so to speak of but I remember whenever I started in 2021, there really wasn’t very many #20 banners. I know Eric won what Darlington and the Daytona race at some point.

“But you know lots of #11 lots of #18 and Martin Truex had a lot of #19 banners up. So my goal was to get some 20 banners hung up in there and there’s a lot of 20 banners up there now.” Well, Bell actually has quite the competition. Kyle Busch has 56 wins while Denny Hamlin has 48 wins to his name for JGR. Without a doubt, the duo has taken the banner game to a different level.

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On the plus side, the contributions from Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, and Erik Jones have helped as far as the #20 banners are concerned. While Bell can make it big at JGR, he sure misses Busch’s presence.

Christopher Bell speaks highly of Kyle Busch as he speaks of his relationship with NASCAR veterans

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Bell is currently in his fourth Cup Series season. In a short duration, he has raced and learned with some of the finest drivers of their generation. He recently spoke about his relationship with NASCAR veterans in the garage.

The Oklahoma-born driver said, “I feel like I have a pretty good relationship with the majority of the veterans in the garage. There’s definitely guys that race you hard and guys that have issues across the garage. But I think for the most part, you have good relationships.”

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Also, Bell speaks of having a good relationship with both Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. However, as per him, Busch has been the most respectful to him, having enjoyed being his teammate for a year. Will we be able to see him and Rowdy unite again in the future? Only time can answer this.