TOYOTA RACING – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 11, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to the media on Wednesday prior to the Daytona 500.
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DEWALT/Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
With the move to the Chase this year, how will it impact the racing at the end of the Daytona 500?
“That’s a great question. I’ve honestly thought about this a lot. The Daytona 500 in the past, with the previous format, it kind of gave it a win or bust mentality where you would lay it all on the line and go for the win and understand if you wreck out you’re going to be fine – hopefully you win a race in the next couple, right? Certainly, in the regular season. Where now, those points that you potentially lose if you do wreck out are going to matter a lot more. Yeah, the risk management of the Daytona 500 certainly becomes more of a talking point. Frankly, if you’re running second or third, you’re probably going to risk it all to win the Daytona 500 because it’s that big of an event. But I think if you’re running outside of that top 10, you’re going to be thinking about, ‘Hey, if I make a mistake here and get crashed out, I’m going to lose a lot of points.’ Every week is going to matter more now than it did in the previous format.”
Do you like the desperation factor of the Daytona 500?
“I would say in general I like it because it means so much to everybody. Looking back at the past last couple years in the sport, we’ve definitely had too much desperation at certain times that have created bad moments and bad looks for our sport, but the Daytona 500 I think is warranted. It’s a really big event, it’s a lifetime achievement and a career-making achievement if you’re able to win this race so I think it’s warranted.”
Do you have a track or circuit that you find most challenging on the NASCAR schedule?
“Well, for me, it’s been Martinsville. I don’t know why that is, but it’s certainly been a track that’s had our number as a team for the last couple years. I had a great race there in 2022 and was able to find my way to victory lane, but we just haven’t been able to repeat that recently. Martinsville for me would be the biggest trouble.”
What’s going through your mind on the final green flag stop on Sunday?
“Honestly, after the green flag stop you just hope that you find yourself in position. It’s what happens in the moments before that and what dictates who’s going to be in position to win the race. Those moments are critical in deciding who’s going to win the race and hoping that you make it through the wreck at the end. Typically, at the Daytona 500, and typically all of the superspeedway races, you find yourself saving fuel at the beginning of runs so you will rarely have yellow flags in the beginning of the runs. Once everyone starts pushing hard specifically at the end of the race, that’s when the big wrecks happen.”
What’s the difference in the intensity between the start of stage 3 and after that green flag stop?
“Oh, it’s night and day. You can see people starting to make more desperate moves and the pace picks up. Your cars start driving a little bit worse and you’ve got a lot of laps on your tires at that time. It’s night and day different.”
Are there people that are better at it than others?
“Once the field gets condensed after the green flag stop, you’re pretty landlocked and I’d say everyone is on a pretty level playing field. But it’s the moments during the green-flag cycle, getting to pit road, getting off pit road, getting in and out of your pit box, that’s where the driver really makes a different. And, then saving fuel. That’s a hot topic with the speedway racing, but it’s a super important strategy key that you have to be able to save more fuel than your competitors and shorten that pit stop up because that puts you in front of the pack.”
Is it more important that the person you’re drafting with has experience or that they’ve had a good car all day?
“It’s definitely more important that they have experience.”
Has the prestige level of this race changed over the years?
“From outside of the industry, I’d say the answer is probably no. From inside the industry, since I’ve been in the sport, I’d say no, but I think as a sport we can make changes to our product — to our rules package — to add more prestige to this event for sure.”
When you’re the car getting pushed at the front of the pack, is there anything you can do as a driver to lessen the risk of potentially getting wrecked?
“Not at that point in time. I prior to my wreck (last year) that I was likely going to end up on the hook and not see that checkered flag. I said it after that race – I don’t blame Cole Custer. He was doing what he had to do to help himself finish well, help me finish well. You have to push in that situation and unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take it, and my car was all over the place and I lost it and hit the wall.”
Is it surprising to you to know that it’s been decade that the pole sitter for the Daytona 500 has gone on to win the race?
“I think it kind of goes hand in hand with the fact that you trim out the car to qualify well, it probably won’t race as well mixed with the fact that it takes a lot of luck to win this race. You’re never out of it until you’re out of it and qualifying has very little input on the race.”
What have you learned about yourself over the last couple of years?
“I’ve learned that I dwell on too much on the negatives for sure. I was talking about this a little bit earlier today – one of my strengths is I never get too high when I’m succeeding but one of my weaknesses is I get too down whenever I’m not running well. You’ve got to be able to ride those highs and ride those lows and stay pretty even keel through it all. That’s something that I certainly need to do a better job of.”
Does it make a difference if you put your hand by the window net for qualifying?
“It doesn’t make any difference.”
What impact did this offseason have for you and Adam Stevens and the 20 team?
“I would say it was very similar, very normal. Everybody took a lot of time off, a lot of separation. We spend a lot of time around each other throughout the season so whenever that checkered flag falls in Phoenix, you’re excited to take a break for sure. I think everyone on this 20 group is super optimistic about the format change and we think it should play well into our favor.”
How do you feel like Toyota has improved on superspeedways?
“Toyota certainly has put in a ton of effort in trying to become better at these races. I do joke around and say it’s luck, but you look around at Ford and what they’ve been able to do in these races. They’ve pretty much dominated them and with that being said, I don’t think they necessarily get the wins that they should out of it which is why it takes a lot of luck to win these races. Toyota has put in a lot of effort to try and run better, qualify better and I’d say we’re seeing that. We had multiple cars in position to win this race last year and unfortunately none of them made it to the start-finish line. We have put in a lot of effort.”
Has the change to the Playoff format changed your mindset going into races each week?
“I think it really tilts the risk management skill. If you’re in the top two or three of the Daytona 500, you’re obviously going to risk it, but if you walk out of Daytona with a DNF like I did last year, it’s going to hurt you a lot more in 2026 than it did in 2025. I love the changes they made to the format because it weights races a lot more equally. Before you had that championship race at that championship track that if you weren’t good at Homestead – I lived that through the Xfinity cars – that you were never going to be a champion and if you weren’t good at Phoenix – you were never going to be a champion. That should not crown – one race should not crown a champion. And now, all 36 races are going to be weighted way more equally which I think is super important.”
How mentally ready are you to run the Daytona 500 with it kicking off the season?
“I think I’m at 100 percent. I’m ready, man. I’m ready. We’ve been recharging all offseason. I’m ready.”
About Toyota
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