“He should quit racing.” Denny Hamlin jokingly said these words about his NASCAR rival Kyle Busch recently. Busch substituted Parker Kligerman in The CW broadcast booth for the Las Vegas Xfinity race, and enthralled fans and Hamlin. But this does not just indicate Busch’s vocal power, but also his fading dominance on the racetrack. And the same applies to Hamlin – as the spotlight grows stronger on his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate – Christopher Bell.

Bell is currently the belle of the ball in NASCAR. With three consecutive Cup Series race wins, he has established a golden legacy already. With the #20 not seeking to stop his relentless pace anytime soon, the old-time leaders may have thorns in their well-trodden paths.

NASCAR is focusing on Christopher Bell now

The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver was always a taciturn NASCAR celebrity. Christopher Bell claimed that his approach helped him achieve laurels in the sport. However, a turning point arrived in this attitude last year. During the playoff race in Martinsville, Bell executed a ‘wall ride’ to vault to the finish line ahead of William Byron. However, his Championship 4 berth was invalidated as NASCAR penalized him for his move after allegations of race manipulation by Toyota and Chevrolet. “I feel cheated out of a chance to compete for a championship,” Bell said after the race. Bell clenched his teeth and adopted a fiery resolve. Ever since then, he has picked up three wins, four top-5 finishes, four top-10 finishes, and accrued more points than any other competitor.

Meanwhile, 54-time Cup Series race winner Denny Hamlin is dealing with a drastic sponsorship loss and losing his trusted crew chief. FedEx and Mavis Tires left his side and Joe Gibbs promoted Chris Gabehart to competition director. Hamlin is also winless since mid-last season, and despite coming close on many occasions, it seems like his miserable streak won’t end. And to add to that, Hamlin has also missed the championship 4 for the last three years, while Bell made it in 2022 and 2023.

Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch may be the winningest driver in NASCAR – but his miseries need no introduction. He has been enduring a 62-race winless streak since the first quarter of the 2023 season. So what Jeff Gluck said to Eric Estepp about NASCAR’s needle pointing toward Christopher Bell instead of the older leaders makes perfect sense. “NASCAR respects him and they want him to be one of the leaders and help guide things. I think you’re seeing that for sure.” These sentiments were reflected when Mike Forde, NASCAR’s managing director of racing communications, revealed Bell’s elevated presence in their decision-making process.

The playoff format has been under scrutiny for a while, and Joey Logano’s 2024 championship only put more spotlight on it, as he won with an average finish of 17, the lowest ever. In a bid to change the format for the better, Mike Forde admitted that they are looking for drivers to lead the discussion, and one prominent name was Christopher Bell. “One of the drivers we have on there is Christopher Bell,” said Forde. “And why I want to bring him up is because NASCAR has really turned to him as a leader in the garage. We have recognized his talents. We recognize his voice.”

Forde pinpointed how Bell handled the race manipulation controversy at Martinsville as a turning point in NASCAR’s perception of the JGR #20. Forde added, “I think how he handled the disappointment of Martinsville — we took notice of that. He was vocal and super candid as you guys all remember in the media center… We met with him prior to that engagement in the media center and met with him in January again to talk about where we were with the playoffs, to invite him as part of this committee.”

Jeff Gluck reflected on earlier times when Christopher Bell was a reserved driver. “He would be one of those guys like in interviews, you could barely get anything out of them. It would just be the most cliche or boring stuff. The point where it’s like is he trying to get us to like just talk to somebody else.”  However, Christopher Bell is changing himself in 2025. That is evident in his enhanced public appearances, as he visited Mexico City with Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez, and Chase Elliott for a promotional campaign. Gluck continued, “I think now he’ll give you opinions. And behind the scenes I know he’s really sharing some opinions.”

NASCAR is indeed warming up to Christopher Bell’s enhanced presence. That is also evident in other arenas, like tolerating his eccentric Las Vegas move.

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Bell molds NASCAR’s approach

What the No. 20 team did in Las Vegas over the past weekend was unheard of in NASCAR’s history. After qualifying 13th, Bell immediately dropped to the rear as his team had to change the throttle body. However, he worked up his way to 10th by Stage 1, and by the mid-point in Stage 2, he was running second. Right then, a pit stop derailed his quick pace – yet the No. 20 crew chief’s stroke of genius stood out.

Bell’s crew failed to secure his left front wheel, and crew chief Adam Stevens advised him to stop at another pit stall. So Bell stopped at his teammate Chase Briscoe’s stall to get his tire tightened. He incurred a penalty for it but avoided a larger safety issue and a bigger penalty if his tire rolled off. His teammate Briscoe was a victim of that penalty, as his tire fell off during the first stage, leading to a 2-lap penalty and 2-race suspension for his jackman and tire changer.

Given the sound judgment on Adam Stevens’ part, the No. 20 team received a lot of appreciation from the Cup Series garage. More importantly, even NASCAR appreciated them in a ‘Hauler Talk’ episode. NASCAR managing director of racing communication Mike Forde said, “In our view, a tire coming off the car is a very dangerous situation. That’s something we take very seriously. I think that’s where the allowance, the acceptance of what the 20 team did, and really the applauding of what the 20 team did, comes in because if what they did was avoid that dangerous situation, we’re OK with it to a certain point.”

Evidently, Christopher Bell is in NASCAR’s good books and he continues to rise in the sport while Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch struggle in the background. Do you think Christopher Bell is the future face of NASCAR? Let us know in the comments!