Joe Gibbs’ Superstar Lets-Slip JGR’s Oversight Robbed 2023 Championship Chance

Christopher Bell got his redemption the past Sunday when he won the Cup race at Phoenix, the same track where he miserably wrecked out last year due to an untimely mechanical failure. C. Bell was on fire at the one-mile track, blazing through the pack with fresh tires and a wickedly fast Toyota. He dominated the final laps, even though a pit-stop strategy gamble had him restarting way back in the 20th with about 90 laps left.

That does not mean it was hell or high water for the JGR driver. Bell wasn’t even sweating it; he blasted his way to the lead in just 50 laps and stayed out front for his seventh career victory and first win in 2024. The early win not only got him a pass into the playoffs, but it was also sweet revenge for Bell, who wrecked out last year at the same track, dominating the field and making up for it with a win at Phoenix.

Christopher Bell says that his car’s pedal was much different than what he had in the fall

At the final restart this year, Martin Truex Jr was leading, and it looked like he’d made a smart move. But then, the race stayed green, forcing him to pit under green, and he managed to claw back to seventh. Meanwhile, Christopher Bell, with fresher tires, cruised past everyone. He hit second place in just over 40 laps and scooped up the lead when Truex had to pit with 40 laps left.

After that, Bell sailed through to victory, marking Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing’s first win of the season. But reflecting on last year’s finale, things were a bit rocky for Bell. Chatting with Dale Earnhardt Jr in his podcast, Dale Jr Download, he hinted at some issues with his car, maybe even the engineering side of things. He shared, “I knew that we had a…you know something fundamentally wrong with the car. […] I’ve not nearly run as many races as you have, but I’ve run plenty of races over Martinsville and Gateway and all these race tracks where I haven’t ever had a break failure.”

#20 JGR driver continued, “So, you know, it was just kind of one of those things, and I knew that the feel of the pedal was consistent over the whole week, whether that was Friday, you know we had a lot of, we had a full hour of practice, so that was like 60 laps, and then through the entire race on Sunday, you know the pedal was really consistent and much different than what I had in the fall last year.”

Although, last year, Bell had a ride that looked like it could give Ryan Blaney, the eventual champ, a run for his money on the longer stretches at Phoenix Raceway, fate had other ideas as Bell’s car lost its brakes and slammed into the wall. And just like that, his car was wrecked, and his dreams of winning the NASCAR Cup Series championship were squashed.

After the race, Bell opened up about the crash and how it felt to miss out on clinching the 2023 Cup Series title. “I just ran out of brakes. We’ve had really strong brakes all year long and haven’t had any issues, so it’s quite surprising to have a brake issue at a track where they are important but not as important as others,” Bell said.

However, now that he’s bagged a win, it certainly has given him a confidence boost. Chit-chatting on SiriusXM NASCAR, he mentioned he’s all geared up for some ‘real redemption’ after making a strong comeback at Phoenix.

C. Bell warns the field of something even bigger, hinting at a greater plan

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For Toyota, it was a statement, trouncing all the competition to rack up a solid win with all three of the 312-lap races won by its drivers. On Sunday, the Japanese cars were quite literally unstoppable. Carrying speed, they swept the field like a gust of wind, blowing away the ever-consistent HMS Chevys. Following the race, C. Bell credited his team for setting up a well-around car that got him the win.

However, speaking on NASCAR’s official radio channel, the driver hinted that this was just the beginning of something even greater. He said, “Thinking of his break issues woes in Phoenix from November 2023, he said, “Real redemption is in November, and we’ll see how that goes,” subtly mentioning a shot at the title.

Even with the stellar victory, the driver did not let things get to his head, he credited his pit crew for their amazing job, saying, “My pit crew did amazing. They are one of the best in the business and everyone’s gonna have a bad stop every now and then. Very proud of everybody on this car, all the pit crew members, they pulled through. It was a great day.”

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With this win, Bell joins the likes of William Byron, Daniel Suarez, and Kyle Larson, who have all won each race in 2024, while his teammate Denny Hamlin has also got one non-point race in the bag, acing the race at the Coliseum.