In his sixth full-time season as a NASCAR Cup Series competitor, Christopher Bell is on the verge of achieving a milestone. By competing in this weekend’s third In-Season Tournament event of the year at Sonoma Raceway, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE entry will make his 200th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Norman, Oklahoma, Bell made his first career start as a Cup Series competitor in the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February 2020. By then, he was coming off two full-time seasons in the Xfinity Series, where he racked up a combined 15 victories and made the Championship 4 round while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing during both seasons. Previously, he achieved the 2017 Craftsman Truck Series championship while driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Starting in 17th place, Bell, who competed in the No. 95 Toyota Camry for Leavine Family Racing, ended up 21st during his Cup debut after he was collected in a multi-car wreck with two laps remaining. Bell would then finish no higher than 24th twice during his next four starts before he finished in the top 11 while racking up two ninth-place results during the following four events on the schedule. Another five races later, he notched his first top-five result in the Cup circuit by finishing fourth during the first of a Pocono Raceway doubleheader feature.
Amid an extra top-10 result in the form of a seventh-place run at Kentucky Speedway in July for his next 12 starts, Bell, who averaged a 20th-place run throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, did not earn a spot for the 2020 Cup Series Playoffs. For the remaining 10 events on the schedule, he achieved a season-best third-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in late October before settling in 20th place in the final driver’s standings. With a total of two top-five results, seven top-10 results, 18 laps led and an average finishing result of 20.3 throughout the 36-race campaign, Bell settled in third place in the 2020 Rookie-of-the-Year standings.
Despite Leavine Family Racing ceasing operations at the conclusion of the 2020 season, Bell reunited with Joe Gibbs Racing as he replaced Erik Jones to pilot the team’s No. 20 Toyota Camry on a full-time basis in 2021. Despite finishing 16th during the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, Bell rebounded by scoring his first Cup Series career victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 on Daytona’s road-course layout after he overtook Joey Logano prior to the final lap and held him off for a final circuit to become the first Oklahoma native and the 197th competitor overall to win in NASCAR’s premier series.
Bell proceeded to finish in the runner-up spot twice and rack up seven additional results in the top 10 throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch before transferring into the Playoffs as a contender for the first time in his career. Despite transferring into the Round of 12 amid respective finishes of 20th, third and 29th throughout the Round of 16, he missed the cutline to transfer past the Round of 12 amid respective finishes of 24th, fifth and eighth throughout the round.
With three top-nine results recorded in the final four events on the schedule, Bell capped off his sophomore Cup season in 12th place in the final driver standings. By then, he earned five additional top-five results and nine additional top-10 results while boosting his average finishing result to 15.8 compared to his rookie Cup campaign.
The 2022 Cup Series season was a breakthrough season for Bell, who finished no higher than 10th during the first five events on the schedule before he recorded four top-five results and nine top-10 results during his next 14 starts. Then at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, the Oklahoma native scored his first elusive Cup victory of the season after leading the final 42 laps.
Despite generating three additional top-eight results throughout the final six events on the regular-season schedule, Bell clinched a spot in the Cup Series Playoffs for a second consecutive year. After transferring into the Round of 12 with three consecutive top-five results throughout the Round of 16, he then rallied from finishing no higher than 17th during the Round of 12’s first two events by capturing a late victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October, which enabled him to vault from below the cutline to the Round of 8.
After finishing no higher than 11th during the Round of 8’s first two events, Bell then notched a clutch victory during the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway by overtaking Chase Briscoe with five laps remaining and muscling away to capture his third win of the season and race his way into the Championship 4 round for the first time in his career while also delivering the 200th Cup career win for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Ultimately, Bell would finish 10th on the track during the finale at Phoenix Raceway and settle in a career-best third place in the final driver’s standings. Overall, he capped off his junior Cup season with career-high stats in season-race victories (four), top fives (12) and top 10s (20). In addition, he notched four poles, led 573 laps and recorded an average finishing result of 13.8.
Poised for another championship run in 2023, Bell commenced the season by finishing in third place in the 65th running of the Daytona 500. He then accumulated four top-six runs during his next six starts before notching his first victory of the season at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course. He led a race-high 100 of 250 laps and fended off a late challenge from Tyler Reddick. With seven additional top-10 finishes generated throughout the final 18 regular-season events, Bell made his third consecutive appearance in the Playoffs. He would then transfer through the playoffs’ first two rounds on the strength of three top-10 results.
Bell redeemed himself a week after he was beaten in a narrow finish by Kyle Larson in the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October. In the following event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Larson won and clinched a Championship 4 berth for a second consecutive season.
Despite having a strong start during the finale at Phoenix, Bell’s championship hopes evaporated on Lap 109 of 312 after a failed brake rotor sent Bell into the outside wall and out of contention, with significant damage made to his entry. Amid the disappointment of ending up in fourth place in the final driver’s standings, Bell capped off the 2023 season with two victories, a career-high six poles, 10 top-five results and 19 top-10 results. In addition, he achieved a career-high 599 laps led and a new career-best average-finishing result of 12.9.
This past season, Bell, who won the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel event at Daytona before finishing in third place in the Daytona 500 for a second consecutive season, rallied from finishing outside the top 30 during his next two starts by claiming an early victory at Phoenix in March.
The Oklahoma native proceeded to win the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May and at New Hampshire Motor Speedway amid wet conditions in July. To go along with nine top-five results, Bell made his fourth consecutive appearance in the Playoffs. After finishing in the top seven in all but one of the first six Playoff events on the schedule, he transferred from the Playoff’s Round of 16 to 8.
Bell finished second and fourth, respectively, throughout the Round of 8. He then used a final lap overtake on Toyota teammate Bubba Wallace while also slapping and accelerating his No. 20 Toyota against the outside wall through the final turn to initially clinch his third consecutive Championship 4 berth in a tie-breaker over William Byron. NASCAR completed an extensive review of the finish.
Bell originally scored an 18th-place finish, but was demoted to 22nd place. They deemed his wall-riding maneuver as outlawed, a rule that had been in effect since the start of the 2023 season and following Ross Chastain’s wall-riding move in 2022. The final ruling resulted in Bell missing the Championship 4 round by four points while Byron was awarded the spot.
Amid the controversy over the finish, Bell proceeded to lead a race-high 143 of 312 laps during the finale before he finished in fifth place both on the track and in the final standings. By then, Bell had achieved career-high stats in top fives (15), top 10s (23), and laps led (1,145), while also recording a career-best average finishing result of 12.8, which was a tenth better than his previous result of 12.9 from the 2023 season.
This season, Bell has achieved three victories through 19 scheduled events. All of his points-paying victories occurred in three consecutive races, including Atlanta Motor Speedway, Circuit of the Americas, and Phoenix, from late February to early March. He also achieved his first All-Star Race victory at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May following a late battle with Logano.
To go along with his pole, Bell has seven top-fives, 11 top-10s, 153 laps led, and an average finishing result of 12.7. He is currently ranked in sixth place in the 2025 driver standings as he strives to return to the Championship 4 round and contend for his first Cup Series title.
Through 199 previous Cup starts, Bell has achieved 12 victories, 14 poles, 53 top-five results, 96 top-10 results, 2,588 laps led and an average-finishing result of 14.9.
Christopher Bell will make his 200th Cup Series career start at Sonoma Raceway for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. It will make the third of five In-Season Tournament events this year. The event will occur on Sunday, July 13, at 3:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
