BELL WINS ANOTHER CROWN JEWEL, CLAIMS VICTORY AT DARLINGTON
Bell’s first victory of the season moves him to second in the point standings
DARLINGTON, SC. (September 7, 2026) – Christopher Bell and crew chief Adam Stevens proved to have the right strategy as their last pit call put Bell on fresh tires, and the Oklahoma-native was able to drive through the field and passed Kyle Larson for the win in the closing laps to claim his victory in the Southern 500. It is Bell’s second Crown Jewel victory (2024 Coca-Cola 600) and the fifth Crown Jewel win for Toyota in the last six Crown Jewel events (Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400, Southern 500).
This is the first time in Toyota’s history to have six drivers claim victories in a single Cup Series season. Bell, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick and Corey Heim have totaled 15 wins for Toyota. 15 victories are the most victories in a single season since 2019.
With Bell, Gibbs in second and Reddick in third, Toyota drivers swept the top-three positions for the fourth time this season (Nashville, Michigan, Chicagoland) and the 19th time in Toyota’s Cup Series history. Chase Briscoe finished sixth and Bubba Wallace was scored eighth to put four Toyota drivers in the top-six and five of the top-eight.
Bell is now second in the point standings – just 13 points behind teammate Denny Hamlin. Toyota drivers continue to hold five of the top-six positions in the points.
TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Darlington Raceway
Race 27 of 36 – 501.32 miles, 367 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, CHRISTOPHER BELL
2nd, TY GIBBS
3rd, TYLER REDDICK
4th, Ryan Blaney*
5th, Kyle Larson*
6th, CHASE BRISCOE
8th, BUBBA WALLACE
15th, ERIK JONES
18th, DENNY HAMLIN
19th, COREY HEIM
24th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
30th, RILEY HERBST
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
Was it worth the wait?
“It’s been too damn long. Oh, my gosh, man. I’m just so, so proud of all of these guys on this No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota, all the mechanics, all the pit crew members. They deserve it more than anyone. This has been a long time coming. Darlington has been one that I’ve always wanted to win since I got into the sport. This is the ultimate driver’s track. You fans, you guys are the best. That’s why we’re here.”
TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
What more did you need there in the end?
“I don’t know. I may have needed to drink another Monster Energy at the end. We had to come from deep because of the metric order. We kind of got hosed there, but fought hard and worked our way forward from 28th to second. Not what we were thinking was going to happen, but we are really happy and appreciate all of the hard effort from this Monster Energy Toyota team. We just kept fighting hard, and we were second. I really want to win this race. I’ve had some seconds here, so a little frustrating, but congrats to Christopher (Bell) and the 20 team. Really happy for them.”
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Chumba Casino Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
What more did you need tonight?
“It is tough for our Chumba Casino Toyota team. In the spring, we were fortunate to have our issue early and we were able to claw our way back to the front. Just with the way it played out with the shorter runs and stuff, we were definitely needing the longer runs. Just kind of unfortunate. I think when we had that weather delay, we were definitely thinking we were going to have a long run coming up, and it ended up being shorter. We just lost some track position there. The guys made a good adjustment on the last stop, and we were able to work our way back forward. I was thinking it would go green out, and it never does here for whatever reason even though it looks like it is going to all day. Just fell behind at a bad time, but it was nice that we were able to claw our way back at the end there – just a little off. We lead laps almost every year here, just seems like it gets away from us every time so that is unfortunate.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
Are you left wondering what could have been?
“Yeah, what could have been. We went back to dead last and got back to the lead within 100 laps, you had a pretty good car. I just didn’t have it go my way there on that last restart. There was a couple of guys that stayed out on that restart and we chose the bottom, and my gut told me the bottom would be better – it would give me more options, and it just didn’t work out. Christopher (Bell) was able to sneak his way up there and get the lead. Just unfortunate – definitely had a Bass Pro Shops Camry capable of winning today, and ended up sixth, so that is unfortunate.”
About Toyota
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Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
