Toyota Racing – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Las Vegas Motor Speedway – March 1, 2019
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to the media in Las Vegas:
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem/Smurfit Kappa Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
What do you expect at Las Vegas?
“I don’t know. We have the same rules package as last year, so I don’t really foresee anything out of the norm. Las Vegas is a cool place. You can move around. You can run the top. You can run the bottom. This was one of our worst race tracks last year. We didn’t have the speed to go out there and compete for the win. Hopefully this year we can improve on that.”
When you have a track you struggle at, how quickly can you adapt?
“Yeah, whenever you go to a race track, you see it time and time again, for example at Dover. We struggled there and weren’t the best. Junior Motorsports had won a lot in the past. We to Dover in the spring, we weren’t very good. We went to Dover in the fall and we were great. Vegas is one of those tracks where we look at as we weren’t good there last year and need to work on it and make it better.”
Do you respect Tyler Reddick or relate to not getting as much respect?
“Yeah, I feel like in the early parts of my career when I was dirt racing, I was overshadowed by (Kyle) Larson and Rico (Abreu). I was teammates with them on the midget side. I had definitely gotten overshadowed by them. I have been there. Reddick one of the most talented race car drivers that we’re competing against in the Xfinity Series. He is a guy that any time you go to what I call a driver’s race track, like Homestead-Miami Speedway, he was outstanding there. Any time you go to those driver race tracks where they’re slick and worn out, he is going to be the guy to beat. He proves that time and time again.”
Are you the guy to beat in 2019?
“I hope so. We’re off to a good start, that’s for sure. This is the best I’ve started out a season. Leaving Daytona not crashed. That was really cool. To be able to win at Atlanta was really special, too. Hopefully we can keep it up. Short-tracks were really good to us last year. I am excited about Phoenix. Like I said, Vegas was one of our weak links. Hopefully, we improve on that.”
Is this a driver’s track now at Las Vegas?
“Yeah, it’s not as slick as other 1.5-mile tracks or some of the other worn out tracks. It’s definitely getting there. It’s one of the more-fun race tracks we go to. It’s not super slick, it’s not a super hard race track. You can hammer it pretty hard. You can run hard. You don’t have to worry about saving tires like you would at Atlanta. It’s right in between a repave or worn out race track. You have much different lanes you can run in. You can run hard and not worry about saving tires.”
Is open-wheel racing something that will remain important to you as you advance?
“It’s definitely really important to me. I think Larson has opened eyes in being vocal that it makes him a better stockcar racer. It’s one thing that I am very high on, too. I go out there and race more, I feel like it makes me a better race car driver. That was one of those things that I really struggled with in 2016 in my first Truck year. There was a 23-race Truck Series schedule. I think I only got to do 10-15 dirt races. I didn’t race enough. I feel like I get rusty and not as sharp if I don’t race enough. For me, coming into this weekend, I just got done running two World of Outlaw Sprint Car events with 900 horsepower Sprint Cars. I get to go into a stockcar so everything will slow down just out of a race car. Which will make me a better race car driver for my day job.”
How does it make you a better driver?
“You’re racing more. If you talk to basketball players or football players, but I am sure they are out there tossing a football around or shooting hoops somewhere. We’re in a unique sport where we can’t just practice during the week. Any time I get to go race other race cars, it makes me better.”
Did you feel pressure at Kyle Busch Motorsports to perform?
“Yeah. It’s the same story every year. Now I am in a Joe Gibbs Racing car and I need to run well in a Joe Gibbs Racing car. That was a huge moment for me. I feel like 2017 was my mulligan year. In 2016, I ran for Kyle Busch Motorsports and won one race, and that was it. I knew that I had to perform, and I was lucky that Toyota believed in me enough to give me that mulligan year. I was able to come back out and be somewhat successful.”
Would you have a harder time not moving up quicker if they didn’t allow you to race in other races?
“With me being able to race other races, it helps me for sure. I am living my dream right now. I am able to race at a professional level and driving for Coach Gibbs, which is outstanding. I also get to run my dirt races every now and then, so I am living my dream and loving life.”
Do you think we put too much expectation on young drivers in the Truck Series?
“It’s hard to say. It’s crazy to see how young some people are. I am 24-years-old and I feel like I am one of the older guys in the Xfinity Series. There’s a lot of younger guys who are running Cup. Chase (Elliott) is younger than me and he’s been in Cup for a number of years. It’s interesting to see the younger guys come up and they keep getting younger and younger.”
How much were you able to learn from Kyle Busch when you ran against him in Truck or Xfinity?
“It’s huge. It stinks we don’t get to race against those guys all the time. The fans have voiced their opinions loudly that they don’t want the Cup guys racing against us. At the same point, how do you know if you’re good or not? If you’re not racing against those guys, so I am glad Kyle is in the next couple of Xfinity races and I get to see where I stack up against him. Hopefully he doesn’t spank us.”
Where do you stack up against Kyle right now?
“I am not Kyle Busch, that’s for sure. But I hope I can run with him. Last year, I felt like I was competitive with him. It will be fun to see.”
What did you think of the Supra?
“It’s outstanding. I was shocked with how much motor it had. Obviously, you can’t go too hard on the highway. It runs well and it’s really cool to see an exotic car like that. They made it affordable an everyday person. Whenever we were driving in Los Angeles, a bunch of people filmed us because they are new and it was really cool.”
Are you getting one in your garage?
“I think I had a deal where if I won a championship last year, I got one, but that didn’t work.”
Knowing what you know, was not winning the championship frustrating?
“Not entirely. I didn’t win the championship but it wasn’t a failure season. I have always been a guy where I am really proud of winning races anyway. Winning seven races was really special. If we can get to that number again, it will be another outstanding year. It was an important part of the puzzle – winning a championship and being a champion. Homestead-Miami Speedway was a place we struggled at last year and we know we have to get better there.”
Has there been any discussion about getting you in a Cup car?
“No one has said anything to me about it. Me looking from the outside in, I don’t know how that will ever work. There are no part-time Cup teams out there.”
Have you learned a lot about restarts from going back and forth between series?
“Yeah, especially in the World of Outlaws. Sprint car racing with the World of Outlaws, restarts are huge. It doesn’t get any harder than restarting with the Outlaws.”
What do you think we’ll see in the Cup racing package?
“From the driver’s I have talked to, I would think this is going to look a lot like a Truck race. I feel like Atlanta looked a lot like a Truck race. They have a lot of downforce, so I think that’s what they’re aiming for.”
