Toyota Racing Christopher Bell
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Pocono Raceway – June 1, 2018
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to the media at Pocono Raceway:
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Ruud-Meier Supply Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What are you expecting with the package at Pocono?
“Well, I’ll be honest. I wasn’t super excited about the package change whenever I first heard about it but after watching the All-Star race and doing some studying at the Indianapolis Xfinity Series race last year, and all of Toyota’s simulations, I expect to be similar to how the Trucks race here. How the Trucks have a bunch of drag and downforce. They can take draft really good down the straightaways but yet you still have separation. I am expecting the Xfinity race to be something similar to what the Trucks normally do around here and if so, hopefully that plays into my hands.”
Does it concern you that this package could be implemented at more tracks going forward?
“Yes, it does. I hate speedway racing. Speedway racing is not my favorite deal. This is a package we’ve known we’re going to have at Indianapolis, Michigan and here. I’ve tried to keep an open mind with it. From our simulator runs here at Pocono, we cannot go wide open around this race track. I think this place is probably going race more like a Truck race. Where you’re going to get big draft down the straightaways but there is going to be some separation because you still are somewhat handling effective if our simulation is right. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we’re not going to see this at 1.5-mile tracks and places like that.”
Does it help that you’ve won here in Trucks and you think this package will be similar to how the Trucks run?
“That statement is based solely on how our simulation race went in the simulator. If that’s the case, hopefully it will play into my hands. The thing about Truck racing is, I have been here twice and struggled the first time. The second time I came here with magic Rudy Fugle (crew chief, Kyle Busch Motorsports) and was really fast. It’s all car-dependent still. The more downforce and drag, the more on-throttle time you have, the more car-dependent you are. That’s something that I am not a fan of. Pocono is a place where I’d love to get to run here without this package because it’s a very unique race track and I think that driver ability has more to do running here. You’re a lot less car-limited with less downforce and more motor. But we’re not doing that this weekend.”
Is part of the issue that there is no distinction between teams?
“Yes, that is 100 percent the issue. We’re all race car drivers and we want to show that we’re the best. You can’t do that whenever you’re not pushing the issue of the tire, whenever you’re not grip-limited, whenever you’re not getting the most out of your car, it’s just a different style of racing. It almost becomes more of chess racing, like you see at speedways. Race car drivers like to push the car to the limit and get the most out of their race cars. With this package, the way that the cars are and tires are, you’re not typically pushing the issue of the tire or car. We are having to lift here at Pocono, though. That’s a good step and hopefully, we’ll see some big draft runs. That’s the goal of the this package and maybe the good guys will still succeed.”
