The 2016 season has been a roller-coaster year for Christopher Bell. A wild ride at Daytona turned into a cut tire while leading at Atlanta, which turned into a missed shift and a broken transmission on the first lap at Texas. Still, with two top-five and four top-10s in 2016, he’s not too far back in the points to turn things around. As a Kyle Busch Motorsports rookie, he and teammate William Byron were expected to lead the rookie charge in 2016.
But while Byron has elevated his status from championship contender to championship threat following his Iowa win Saturday night, Bell has struggled to find the right rhythm for his No. 4 Toyota team. His season stats tell the tale; 16th, 26th, 19th, fourth, third, eighth, 32nd, and ninth. But what they don’t tell is how he was running in the top-five before flipping at Daytona, or how he led 42 laps at Atlanta and was leading when he crashed. Or how he was running near the front at Martinsville before getting caught up in a backstretch tangle late in the race.
Bell is a talented driver, just as talented as Byron. But Byron has championship experience in Crew Chief Rudy Fugle and the best Toyota team in the Camping World Truck Series. While Bell’s Crew Chief Jerry Baxter has 31 years of experience in the position and has won with former KBM driver Darrell Wallace Jr., it doesn’t help that Bell has had his share of bad luck.
Already armed with one CWTS win (Eldora, 2015), Bell has been in contention for wins all season long. Sure, it’s easy to count him out considering the success his teammate is experiencing, but don’t let Byron’s wins set the standard for the way Bell’s successes are judged. Kyle Busch knew what he was going to get out of Bell when he first hired him and compared to his 2015 stats, Bell is where he should be performance wise.
Not every winner is a Jones or a Byron. But that doesn’t make them a one-hit wonder, either. Bell needs more experience and thankfully, the CWTS season is only eight races in and luckily for Bell Eldora lies ahead. He’s shown strength at every track so far this season, so he could win at any of the tracks coming up before the Chase kicks in.
It’s too early to doubt Bell or to count him out of contention. He’s a rookie, and he’s doing what rookies normally do; learn. He’s learning and posting strong results when possible. He’ll gain momentum, he’ll gain consistency, and he’ll gain confidence. Those top-10s will pile up, but he just needs time.
