TOYOTA RACING – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
RICHMOND, Va. (August 14, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to the media on Friday prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race from Richmond Raceway.
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
How much confidence can you take into the latter stretch of the season with all of the second-place finishes?
“Yeah, I mean, certainly all of the second-place finishes – they’re trying and, in the moment, it really kind of feels like just a kick to the gut. But then whenever Monday, Tuesday rolls around, you’re like, ah, it was a pretty darn good day. So, ultimately, the results that we’ve gotten have meant a lot more this year than what they have in my entire Cup career with the format change. So, it’s been nice to stack some good results together and we’re performing really well right now. I certainly feel like we’re in the mix.”
What can you take from North Wilkesboro and Iowa for the race tomorrow?
“(North) Wilkesboro was a perplexing one. We had a great practice at (North) Wilkesboro, and we expected to have a really good race, and then our race was just littered with a bunch of issues. So that was disappointing, but we were able to rebound and obviously have a great showing at Iowa. This has kind of been one that’s got away from us for a number of years. I’ve been really strong here, looked like I was in position to win several of them, and just, yeah, it just hasn’t happened yet. I enjoy Richmond. Obviously, have a great resume in the O’Reilly Series cars here, and still looking for that first win of the year and at Richmond. Maybe it’ll happen this weekend.”
What are your thoughts a week removed from the Iowa pit call?
“After seeing the whole thing back, I understand his thought process and do believe that he made the right decision. Ultimately, he told me, he said, I thought that the 54 (Ty Gibbs) would take two tires. I expected the 54 to take two tires and we had 60 laps to pass them. I didn’t think that there was any way that I wasn’t going to get them in 60 laps. So, ultimately, it just didn’t work out, and, we’ll chalk it up to another second-place finish.”
Is it easier to look at the bigger picture this year?
“Yeah, definitely. I mean, going back to what I just said earlier, these results have – they mean more today in this year than they have for the previous format, my entire Cup career and NASCAR career for that matter. I mean, the point standings and where you’re running at in points is super important, but the entire previous championship format was very much win or bust. I think that mentality is still engraved in at least my mind and probably most of the industry’s mind, but in all reality, it’s not win or bust anymore. You have to have good, consistent, strong runs every single week and that’s what we’re doing. Unfortunately, we haven’t got to Victory Lane, but we’ve we have been running really well.”
Do you expect the racing to be less crazy heading into the Chase under the new format?
“I don’t know. Certainly, the number of guys that feel the pressure of making into the Playoffs or the Chase is probably less. In years past, under the different format, everybody on the outside still had an opportunity to get in. Where now, it’s kind of dwindled down to a couple guys that are fighting for the spots. Ultimately, they know that a bad day is extremely detrimental, where under the previous system, it was win or bust. If you finished second or 36th, it paid the same discipline and the same consequences. So, the reward of trying to push and do those egregious moves was worth it. Where now, in this new format, you have to be really calculated. You have to be really smart and understand the consequences of doing the stuff that we’ve seen in the past. I very much enjoyed this style of racing of like every single stage, every race matters, and I think the detriment of making a mistake if you’re going for the win and spin out or something like that is much higher than what it was in previous years.”
Are you making a moral choice with how you raced Ty Gibbs or was it the struggles with the car?
“I mean, whenever I’m out there racing, whether it’s Ty (Gibbs), Denny (Hamlin), or Joey Logano, or Kyle Larson, or whoever it is, it’s just the leader of the race at that point. Honestly, the one thing that we’re, myself and my team, I think, are kicking themselves was my car just got loose at the end of the race. The second to last run whenever I was able to pass Ryan (Blaney), I wasn’t slipping, and I was able to get to Ryan’s bumper and then try different lanes and try the bottom. I got beside him a couple times on the bottom. I was able to pass them on the outside. Whenever Ty was leading the race, I was just sliding around. I was like 10 car lengths back and then there were a couple times that I pushed really hard to try and make up ground on them and I was able to get there. But the moment that I got there, I started sliding around and would fall back again. There wasn’t really going to be any way for me to even move him out of the way without seriously jeopardizing both of us. I was so loose that if I would have tried to make any sort of contact, it was going to make my car jump sideways. I wasn’t able to do it.”
Would you have been comfortable moving him if you would have gotten there?
“We all have a driver code, and I’ve been around the sport long enough that I think I’ve shown my driver code. There’s been several late race finishes that, yeah, I think my driver code is spelled pretty clearly.”
Do you think it’s the best strategy to take the points?
“Depending on the situation, yes, but under race situation that I had last week, I can promise you that that was not on the back of my mind. I wasn’t sitting here, thinking about, I was trying doing everything that I could to win. Running second was not on my brain or my agenda for sure. I promise you that.”
How encouraging is it coming here and New Hampshire with your short track program?
“I mean, I don’t know. You mentioned our short track program being really good. I don’t know that I share that same sentiment. I think that we’re competitive.”
Chase Briscoe and Ryan Blaney pointed to you as having the best car last weekend.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s good to hear. I think my team did a really good job last weekend at Iowa to bring probably the best car in the field. But honestly, our strength right now, I would say, are the downforce tracks. Like, I feel more confident that we’re going to be the best cars going to intermediates, going to the faster tracks. Whenever I think of like Richmond and Loudon, the Penske cars, who seem like they aren’t as good on the intermediates, they kicked our butts at Loudon last year and at Phoenix last year. I think we’re going to be in the mix and our cars are good, but I don’t think that we’re the clear-cut favorites whenever we come to these tracks. I think the field’s really tight at Richmond and Loudon. So, my confidence is not as high at these tracks as it is at some of our bigger strengths on the schedule.”
What is the biggest challenge for you at New Hampshire?
“So, New Hampshire is generally trying to get the car in the corner in turn three. It’s really rough over there, and these cars really like to be low to the ground. So, turn one and really the rest of the racetrack is smooth. So, you want to get it down to optimize the car performance for those smooth parts of the racetrack, and then you have to manage the bumpy entry to turn three, which can become really difficult if you get the car too low. So, it’s just a compromise there. The car has to be loose, which makes the bumps even harder. You have to be turning good. You have to be loose, have to be free, and then you have to manage the bumps and turn three at Loudon. So, it does become a very tricky track for the crew chiefs and the drivers.”
Can you talk about your involvement with Halmar-Friesen Racing?
Yeah, it’s just been a lot of fun to do something new for me. My entire NASCAR career has been full of being in powerhouse organizations that are proven and, it’s been a lot of fun to go to HFR (Halmar-Friesen Racing) who’s a relatively new organization trying to kind of get their footing in the door or get their footing and they’re standing in the in the series. I love Stewart (Friesen). I’ve always had a lot of respect for Stewart since well, even before NASCAR, like I would watch him and watch him dirt racing and stuff like that. I was excited about the opportunity. It kind of, I don’t know, it matured after I ran or I subbed in for him last year at Walkins Glen. Then their involvement with Toyota kind of took a next step forward in the 2026 season. I’ve enjoyed going to a different level team and I think they’re well on their way to becoming a powerhouse organization.”
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