Joe Gibbs Star Sounds the Alarm on Toyota’s Clinical Problem Stealing His Gateway Victory

Last Sunday, the jaw-dropping climax had us all at the edge of our seats. Joe Gibbs’ star Christopher Bell dominated the show, stealing both Stage wins in his No. 20 Toyota car. But the crowd was left baffled when his car mysteriously slowed down with 17 laps to go. It was an unexpected ending for a stellar driver who has already punched his ticket into the 2024 playoffs.

Bell and his team were gobsmacked by the situation. Crew chief, Adam Stevens, claimed with haplessness, “There’s just no way to tell right now.” However, the mystery was solved recently. As it turns out, the problem’s roots run deeper than expected as Christopher Bell sounds a cautious alarm.

Bell pins the blame on Toyota

The Toyota cars have been on a hot streak this season. Closely trailing behind the Chevys, they have raked up six wins already. However, the nagging technical issues have left Christopher Bell frustrated.

After the Enjoy Illinois 300 fiasco unfolded, the No. 20 team downloaded the data before leaving Gateway. The diagnosis results came after the car returned to the shop on Monday. In a public release, Christopher Bell solved the issue – the Toyota car had a broken exhaust valve. Moreover, the 28-year-old driver was lucky not to get slapped with a catastrophic failure and a DNF.

However, this problem uncovers deeper issues for the Toyota bandwagon. In a recent interview with Bob Pockrass, Bell recalled how engine issues had last emerged in 2022. Then Bell outsmarted his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates with the highest number of top-fives and top-tens. But Denny Hamlin and the others frequently faced issues like engine failures, power steering issues, and broken drivetrains.

Hence Bell sounded an alarm call for the Toyota team. “We broke a valve spring, yes. And we haven’t had valve spring problems for a long period of time. I think it was 2022, we did have a rough go of it with the valve springs. But we haven’t seen that in a period of time now. So I think, they think too that it was just a random part failure and we’re not expecting any more of it.”

Christopher Bell further shed one last tear on his Toyota misery, before shifting gears to a happier mood. “I mean, that one’s gonna sting for a while because the car was obviously amazing, we had great pace and the win was right in front of us. So you don’t wanna let that one get away. But you know, we had a great day. We were still able to salvage a lot of wins out of it, so yeah, I’m confident we’ll be fast.”

However, Bell’s deeper analysis of the Toyota problem is very accurate. If you flip through the pages of history, similar technical issues will pop up. What’s more, a Joe Gibbs Racing driver lamented about it.

Former JGR star driver was annoyed with nagging issues

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Toyota cars have a long history with Joe Gibbs Racing, but so do technical issues. In 2009, the car manufacturer reported engine wear issues on the racetrack, for which then TRD president, Lee White, wholeheartedly apologized. In 2013, Toyota lost 17 engines during the first 13 races and another four during practice. Some Toyota drivers facing engine problems included Travis Kvapil, Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte, Joe Nemechek, Martin Truex Jr, and Matt Kenseth.

JGR driver Matt Kenseth led the season with three wins but lagged behind in the standings due to engine problems. Kenseth lamented in 2013: “I mean I feel like JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) has three of the strongest teams in the garage. It seems like we got the best cars out there – or equal to the best cars. But, you know you have to finish these things.” He added, “From a driving standpoint, I mean I can’t be any easier on it then I’ve been on it, so something is wrong. It’s not driver-induced. It’s not too many miles in practice. It’s nothing like that. Something wrong with a part and it broke.”

Evidently, Christopher Bell and his teammates have reason to worry as Toyota’s slip-ups are nothing new. Hopefully, they will rectify their mistakes and move ahead.