Remember last season’s domino of accidents? It was a depressive season for half of the Hendrick Motorsports fold. Barely three races into the 2023 season, Chase Elliott suffered a crippling leg injury on his snowboarding venture. He was sidelined for six races. Then in December, Alex Bowman fractured a vertebra in a sprint car race and missed four events. Now this harrowing series seems to have entered another Cup Series team.

Joe Gibbs Racing is right at Hendrick’s side this season, fetching stellar finishes at almost every track. And Christopher Bell is one of the strongest drivers, although now a grim stretch faces him. But Bell’s crew chief caught the Hendrick curse as he attempted a foolhardy swimming strip with his son.

Joe Gibbs’ stellar crew chief’s off-track challenge went awry

Christopher Bell has achieved three wins—at Phoenix, Charlotte, and then New Hampshire. But the No. 20 team’s stellar progress may take a hit as Bell’s right-hand man went through a mishap. Unlike most NASCAR people having a blast, Adam Stevens, the 37-time race-winning crew chief, didn’t and instead harked back to Chase Elliott‘s misery.

As Stevens sat down with Sirius XM NASCAR, he shared how his vacation went wrong. Initially, Joe Gibbs‘ brilliant crew chief focused on the brighter part of his family time. “I was just enjoying some downtime with the family. We ventured up to my hometown at Portsmouth, Ohio…It was just a good time. Played a lot of golf, went swimming, hung out, and just enjoyed each other’s company.”

A pool party ensued in the Stevens family. “And we were swimming in the pool, Sunday afternoon, taking turns jumping off the diving board with the nieces and nephews and my kids…doing flips and just enjoying ourselves.”

But then a splashing adventure gripped his mind, and he tried to mimic the Olympic divers. Adam Stevens’ son was better, so he got into a competitive mood. “I felt like my flips weren’t quite as impressive as my 15-year-old son’s. So I amped my game up a little bit and it was fine…I would turn through the line and try a little harder, and they were getting prettier.”

Competing with your child probably is not the best idea, as right then disaster struck Joe Gibbs’ employee. Adam Stevens painfully recalled his “last ever” dive: “My last strip, probably ever now at this point, gets a little too hard. Loaded up a little bit too much on the end of the diving board and ruptured both my patellar tendons at the same time.” Crew chief Stevens had to undergo double knee surgery, and he assured JGR fans that he would be “back in a few weeks.” This uncertainty closely resembles Chase Elliott’s six-week-long absence last season.

However, the races ahead represent a crucial juncture for the No. 20 team in the race to the playoffs. Richmond is also introducing a new tire experiment, and Christopher Bell expressed his apprehensions.

C. Bell is facing the unknown

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Christopher Bell holds a stellar record at the Virginia short track. In the spring race, he rebounded from a speeding penalty to land sixth place. Besides, Bell also owns two top-fives and six top-10 finishes in eight career starts. However, the 2024 Cook Out 400 race is bound to be different. NASCAR and Goodyear have put their heads together to implement option tires for the first time in a regular-season race.

Although it sounds exciting after the high-wear tire management race in Bristol, Bell is a little apprehensive. Especially after Adam Stevens’ injury, Joe Gibbs’ No. 20 driver sounded a bit worried. “Richmond is going to be a little bit different this time around with the option tire being introduced to points racing. Nobody is quite sure how it’s going to go, but I’m sure we will learn a lot in our practice session on Saturday.”

Yet Crew Chief Stevens is ensuring everything goes smoothly even in his absence. Although he will not travel to the racetrack, he will remain a fixture at the Joe Gibbs Racing shop and will be in the JGR war room during the race weekend. Stevens will assist Chris Sherwood, the team’s replacement car chief, in making race day calls. He is also confident that his injury would not hamper the team’s progress. “I am very thankful for the depth and strength of this 20 team and don’t anticipate my physical absence having any effect on our performance.”

Evidently, Joe Gibbs’ No. 20 team is diligently adjusting to Stevens’ unforeseen mishap. We can only wait until Sunday to see if their plan works out.