Toyota Racing – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
DAYTONA BEACH (February 16, 2022) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to media prior to the Daytona 500 this Wednesday:
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
This is your first year with full practice and qualifying. How does that help you?
“That is crazy to think about. This is my third year in Cup, but my first with full practice and qualifying. It’s going to be different, but it’s going to be different for everybody. We’ve got to use the word practice loosely, because it’s not a typical practice session where you are able to go out and make a run, come back in the garage, make an educated decision on what changes you are going to make. Theoretically, it is a hot lap session. I’m excited about that. It’s what I grew up doing at the dirt tracks all of the time. The name of the game this year is going to be improvise and just try to do the best you can with what you’ve got. I’m excited about going out there, having 15-minute practices, trying to make the best educated decisions on what – basically, pit road adjustments – you are going to make to go qualify and then go out and go as fast as you can in qualifying and the same thing in the race. I’m hopeful that it will suit my style.”
What do you think about Toyota’s expansion of the 410 motors?
“I think that just speaks for whole of auto racing in general. I think it’s really good that Mr. Irving (Jack) said that about NASCAR being the end game – there is another end game. One thing that I’ve always really focused on is – you have two top levels. You have the World of Outlaws sprint car series and then NASCAR. Not even two top levels – there is multiple top levels. They are all equal. It really bothers me whenever we have fans that say, you’re moving up from sprint cars to NASCAR, and that’s not really the case. You’re not moving up – it’s not a stepping ladder. It’s a lateral change. It’s really good, especially with my alliance with Toyota, they are getting involved with multiple forms in motorsports. That’s something that I’m really excited about and something that I really want to harp on – it’s not a stepping ladder, it’s a lateral change from dirt racing to pavement racing to road course racing to IMSA racing to whatever it is. There’s different top levels.”
Does it help guys that have gone outside of their comfort zone?
“I have nothing but respect for guys like (Alex) Bowman and Chase Elliott has been a good example for stepping outside of their comfort zone and trying something new and different. I did that a couple years ago when I went super late model racing. It was completely foreign to me and definitely way outside of my comfort zone. It’s cool to see people doing that. I firmly believe that the best race car drivers in the world are the ones that can get into any form of motorsports – Jimmie Johnson is another great example. A seven-time champion that’s in INDYCAR now. That was really cool to watch, and I have nothing but respect for the people that try to make their selves a better race car driver and try different things.”
Do you think it helps as a newer driver with this new car?
“It’s going to be interesting to see if any of the veterans struggle with being quote ‘set in their ways’ and then the young guys coming into this sport that don’t have all of that experience and those notes of years and years racing the Gen6 cars. The cream is going to rise to the top. The best drivers are going to figure it out. The best teams are going to figure it out. One thing that we don’t know going into this season is what team is going to have the advantage. A lot of that is going to be setup induced, because as you mentioned, all the 40 teams have the same components so it’s going to be a matter of your engineers and crew chiefs figuring out the setups and the drivers figuring out driving techniques that make these cars go around the racetrack fast. We have a lot to learn and a simple rule change that came over from NASCAR about the skew. There is going to be a lot of those changes throughout the course of the year. We keep learning every time we hit the racetrack. I’m sure that is not going to be the last rules change. It’s going to be interesting to see which driver and team get the advantage the quickest.”
How important is it to see the growth of 23XI to help Toyota’s numbers at superspeedways?
“It’s been really cool to see the growth of 23XI for sure, because whenever it comes to superspeedway racing, we know that numbers help a lot. We’ve had a really strong car with Bubba (Wallace) added last year. He was able to get a win at Talladega, which was really good for Toyota and our group and now adding Kurt Busch to the team is going to be nothing but beneficial for the Daytona 500. We should have two really strong Camrys out there alongside the Joe Gibbs Racing four. I think we are going to be in good shape. We’ve got great drivers, great teams. It will be fun to see who can execute the best.”
Have you had any interactions with Kurt Busch so far and have you been able to learn anything from him?
“Kurt (Busch) is the veteran of the group. Him and Martin (Truex, Jr.) It’s crazy because as a kid growing up, we all know the fiery Kurt Busch that came into this sport and now he’s completely changed. He’s the calm, cool veteran, been there, done that guy. I have a ton of respect for Kurt. He’s a great race car driver and I’ve seen him be great to us so far. We’ve only had one competition meeting post-Clash a week ago now, and really – is just a veteran and a leader in this sport. All of us are grateful to have him on our team.”
Do you learn on anyone for advice being one of the younger guys in the Toyota camp?
“It’s interesting because all six – I guess you could say – are teammates, but at the same time we are competitors too. The guy that has been the most useful to me has probably been Kyle Busch because I have a relationship with him that dates back to my super late model days – my first stock cars in general. Moving up to the truck series, he was my boss. He was probably the guy that I leaned on the most but at the same time. He’s not going to go out and tell me everything you have to go out and figure it out yourself. I’ve never really been one to figure out with questions. I remember when I first got into the sport my crew chief would always be hounding me to go ask this guy questions, and I’m like I don’t even know what to ask because it’s about going out there and feeling it and figuring out what works and doesn’t work by yourself.”
Do you feel like your generation is more open to change and diversity?
“I don’t really know how to answer that. Bubba (Wallace) – he’s a race car driver just like me. He’s got his strengths and weaknesses. Going into the Daytona, one of his strengths, if not, his biggest strength is speedway racing. There is no doubt in my mind that he’s going to content for a win this week. He’s just a race car driver like the rest of us.”
Have you been able to compete more in other races that you want to compete in besides NASCAR?
“The Gibbs group has been pretty good. We saw Kyle (Busch) run some dirt cars during the offseason which was unique and cool to see. I think it’s good to see a big portion of the garage getting out and racing more at short tracks and stuff like that. As far as my piece, they’ve been really open about me going out and doing stuff. Just the last year and so, I’ve had a lot of other commitments and other stuff come up that hasn’t allowed me to race as much. I was scheduled to be in Volusia last week with the Sprint Car stuff and unfortunate circumstance happened that didn’t allow me to go. With the schedule going back to full weekends – Friday, Saturday, Sunday – is going to limit me over the course of the season. Hopefully in the summer months, when we get some midweek shows, I will be out and about.”
Are there any concerns after some part failures in LA?
“That’s very interesting. Looking back at the Gen6 car – it had years and years to evolve and learn from and for the most part DNFs or part failures didn’t happen at the end of the Gen6 era. It’s very eye opening to go to the first race with the next gen car and we are just learning with every time we are at the racetrack. That is not going to be the last parts failure or mechanical failure. We’ve got a lot learning to do, and we just don’t what’s going to happen next. Mechanical failures and DNFs are going to be a big part of the story this year and who can catch it before it happens is going to be a big advantage.”
How stoked were you to see a whole new group of fans in LA?
“Anytime that you can get a full house is incredible. I remember my first Daytona 500 was packed and just the atmosphere that day was incredible, and you go to LA last week and it was very, very similar. Just getting that many people involved and cheering for what you are doing is really cool. Atmosphere plays a huge part in an event and it definitely had that, so I definitely think it was a huge success from the NASCAR standpoint and from the drivers standpoint and I hope we are able to get more packed houses.”
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