With Christopher Bell winning the race at Homestead Miami Speedway, Joe Gibbs must have experienced a flux of emotions. On the one hand, it is indeed a big achievement for Bell to book a place in the Championship 4 for the second consecutive time. On the other, there have been worrying signs for Gibbs and his team as they prepare to make it big two weeks from now on.

At the start of the playoffs, Joe Gibbs Racing had three drivers strongly competing. Such is the team’s consistency that all three reached the round of 8. However, it now seems likely that only Bell will be fighting for the title unless Denny Hamlin or Martin Truex Jr triumph at the Martinsville Speedway. To make things worse, a well-known NASCAR member pointed out how even Bell has a tough road ahead.

NASCAR insider sends an alarming message to Christopher Bell and Joe Gibbs following Homestead

Safe to say, for the major part of the race on Sunday, Christopher Bell struggled significantly. In simple terms, he found it difficult to make a move past the middle pack. In fact, he had been running in the 20s for much of the day and almost went a lap down in Stage 2.

Had it not been for the wrecks and chaos in the dying moments of the final stage, it was unlikely for Bell to win. So much so that Bell did not even expect himself to take the chequered this past Sunday.

In the post-race interview, he said, “I’ve got the best team behind me. Honestly, I don’t know, man. That race was a whirlwind. I was ready to throw the towel in there in the second stage. I got frustrated on the radio.”

“Adam [Gregory] kept after it. Adam, Tyler, William, the guys back at the shop were working over the adjustments and gave me what I needed. Whenever we got some clean air, this thing was really good.”

All said and done, while the victory might have been fortunate, he will have to focus strongly on the race in Phoenix. In fact, NASCAR insider Freddie Kraft had a subtle warning for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver recently.

Speaking on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Kraft pointed out Bell’s poor record at Phoenix. He said, “He’s not been great there. Last year he made the final four. He qualified 17th. I think he only got like one stage. He got some points. I think he finished 10th.”

It is true that Bell has struggled at Phoenix. Including his 10th-placed finish last year, he has finished in the top ten four times in seven races. What’s most concerning for Joe Gibbs is that Bell has found it difficult to finish in the top five even once in those seven races.

In Bell’s defense, he was not expecting his participation in Phoenix last year until he won at Martinsville Speedway. However, things are different this time around, as he has two entire weeks to prepare. It would be tricky, but certainly not impossible to triumph in the finale.

While the pit crews at JGR have had a questionable season, Bell could ensure victory at Phoenix should he and his team go right about one thing specifically.

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NASCAR insider pinpoints what could stand between JGR drivers and this year’s championship

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Joe Gibbs and his team have been at the receiving end of multiple pit issues more often than not in the 2023 campaign. In fact, Martin Truex Jr seemed to have struggled with it frequently this season and also at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. While that has been a major roadblock to JGR’s title ambitions, eradicating that is one way to ensure victory at Phoenix.

Speaking about it on the same episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Freddie Kraft said, “Phoenix is gonna come down to a money pit stop. It’s gonna be come down to a pit stop at some point and you have to be on your game because we’ve seen the #5 and the #24 teams are money right now. And you’re gonna have to go heads up with them at some point in this race.”

Clearly, Joe Gibbs will have to ensure his team is spot-on with their tactics at Phoenix. While it remains a massive challenge for them, it would be interesting to see how they approach the finale.

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