Joe Gibbs Racing Retains Bragging Rights With a Record-Breaking Phoenix Victory

Christopher Bell’s comeback masterclass for Joe Gibbs Racing at Phoenix marked a monumental moment for Toyota as well as Coach Gibbs’ gloried organization. The #20 Camry XSE driver won his 7th career NASCAR Cup Series and his first at the Phoenix Raceway. Bell had the fastest car in practice on 15 laps and above averages and he showed strong speed throughout the week qualifying at 13th. The 29-year-old won stage 2, and led a decent 50 laps on his way to beating Chris Buescher (P2) and JGR teammate Ty Gibbs (P3) for the team’s first victory of 2024. 

In the past three race weeks, the cameras have been majorly focused on Hendrick Motorsports and their dominant displays in their Camaro ZL1s, with Daniel Suarez’s Atlanta victory for Trackhouse also creating a considerable buzz as the most viral moment in NASCAR history. This Sunday, the JGR and Toyota Racing Development drivers switched their realities, leading 298 laps out of the 312 at the Shriners Children’s 500, while 6 out of 10 Camrys were foretelling the future during Friday’s practice session.

Bell Breaks His Own Record for Largest Margin of Victory

Although it was Team Penske driver Joey Logano who picked the fastest car in practice with his #22 Ford, a recurring trend as of late, JGR veteran Denny Hamlin ensured his #11 JGR Toyota started as the frontrunner when the green flag waved. This resulted in Hamlin becoming the lap leader for the race at 68 laps before he spun out late in Stage 3, due to an incident with Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing.

Coincidentally, the #45 also led 68 laps, winning Stage 1. However, his strong efforts in the 23XI Monster Energy Camry XSE fell short of Christopher Bell’s silent confidence and prior experience with the new short-track package. Bell was one of the 6 drivers who underwent pre-season testing in December for the alterations on display starting from Sunday’s Phoenix race.

Crew chief Adam Stevens also acknowledged the “leg up” it provided in post-race conferences. However, amidst all the experience and resilience on the part of the #20 driver, he made another overlooked record. The young driver’s margin of victory over runner-up Chris Buescher clocked in at a remarkable 5.465 seconds. This monumental triumph stands as the largest Margin of Victory in the Next-Gen era, surpassing the previous record set at New Hampshire in 2022, by Bell himself at 5.439 seconds.

The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck retweeted Stephen Stumpf’s original post captioning it with, “Missed this stat yesterday. Kinda wild 5.5 seconds is the biggest MOV in 2+ years. Even on road courses!” This gives the entire JGR team a unique type of bragging right over their opponents in the face of Hendrick Motorsports’ early season dominance with last season’s Phoenix winner William Byron and last-to-last week’s race winner, Kyle Larson.

A Twist of Fate for Toyota?

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Joe Gibbs Racing broke the Chevy streak at Phoenix in their own dominant display. They won the ARCA race with William Sawalich and the Xfinity Race with Chandler Smith. As the dust settles in the Arizona desert, it is now safe to say JGR owned the Valley of the Sun this week. All 4 drivers got to lead laps with pole-winner Hamlin leading the most at 68 combined with#45 Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing, also the winner of Stage I.

Ironically their combined feat stands as the lowest(highest) laps led at Phoenix since Kevin Harvick’s 70 led in 2013. To add even more satire to the situation, the #45 car was involved in Hamlin’s late-race spinout which in turn ended up in the #11 JGR Toyota finishing P11 after running up front for most of the race.

#54 Ty Gibbs finished third and led 57 laps, he started at P2 and recorded strong speeds throughout the 312 laps at the dog-legged oval. He now has the best average finish of all full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers in the 2024 season, with an impressive score of 8.75. Martin Truex Jr, coming off a late-race pitstop running P1, gave Bell the lead with 40 laps to go.

Nevertheless, MTJ surged past the field in the extremely dominant Camry XSE, coming in at P7. He was the last driver to give JGR and Toyota a win at Phoenix with his 2021 victory. Coach Gibbs’ organization now stands 3rd in the points table trailing Hendrick Motorsports and table leader team Penske as we head to the iconic “fastest half-mile in the world” – The Bristol Motor Speedway.

Read More: Joe Gibbs Racing Insider Reveals How They Got “Leg Up on Everyone” at Phoenix With Christopher Bell