Toyota GAZOO Racing – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
LAS VEGAS (October 11, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to the media on Saturday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Could you talk about how important this race is?
“Yeah, certainly, this this is the one that we have circled. We know that is a great opportunity for us to have a good day score some points. Our intermediate package has been really good from Kansas a couple of weeks ago. Even in Bristol, we’d run the same rules package. So, it seems like the everything’s going right for us that Joe Gibbs Racing. Our teammates have been really good. We know that this is a big opportunity hopefully we can capitalize on it.”
What are the tangible benefits to winning this weekend?
“Yeah, I mean, this is the big one. Like, this is the race that we’ve had circled since, you know, since the schedule came out, really. I mean, you make it into the round of 8 and the mentality changes at this point in in the season, in the Playoffs. The Round of 16, Round of 12 is kind of you know, you’re just looking for points. It’s survival mode, and then whenever you end the round of 8, it’s about wins. Ultimately, you need to win in order to make that Final Four, and if you don’t win, then you, you have to be in that top-five, you know, big stage points competing for wins. So, it’s a lot different. The Round of 16, Round of 12 are pretty similar, and then the Round of 8 is a different mentality, and it takes a lot more to make the next cut.”
Last week, Denny (Hamlin) had the possibility to say, “Okay, I’m not gonna pass Ross (Chastain) to help myself in the sense of I knock Joey (Logano) out. I think he’s a bigger challenge to my championship.” Is that manipulation of a race or not?
“I mean, it is, you know, but it’s a product of the format that we’re racing under right now. So, it’s been happening a lot longer than, I think most people realized and people are just, you know, finally starting to talk about it. But, yeah, I think everything that happens is a product of the format that we’re racing under.”
Do you study what happened to you last year or are you so over it?
“I, honestly, I haven’t really paid too much of it too much attention to what’s going on. I saw the brief highlights that essentially, you know, Ross (Chastain) was, all on the cutline or needed a point, and Denny (Hamlin) wasn’t aware, and Denny was frustrated that he didn’t know the points at the end of the race and so, I’ve seen the highlights of it, but you know, ultimately, I haven’t dug deep into everything about it or any of the situations that have come up here, you know, the last, whatever year since my deal, what I’ve learned is, you know, winning cures all, and no matter what the format is, winning races is the best thing to do. So, you know, like last year I came into this round, with a lot of bonus points, kind of separated from the field and felt like we were not in a must win position. I didn’t win, and I didn’t make the final four. This year, my mentality is a lot different in the aspect that we need to win in race, and this is probably my best opportunity to win in this round. So, we’re going to try and make that happen this week.”
What mindset do you come to Vegas with?
“Yeah, I mean, no, I definitely feel confidence and positivity, thinking every time you think of Vegas, even though I haven’t won here and I’ve had a lot of races get away between the two Cup races the last two and through the Xfinity years and the truck years, I have zero wins at Las Vegas, but it’s always been a really, really strong track for me. We performed really well. So, yeah, I would say I’m excited about coming here every time and, you know, I think that one of these days, we’re going to get rewarded. I don’t think the track owes us one, but certainly driving from Joe Gibbs Racing, I have great cars whenever we come here and hopefully, I can continue to drive well, I’ll pick up a win.”
What is different with your process coming into this race?
“I mean, honestly, I haven’t done anything different. I would say that the stakes are just a little bit higher, and, you know, that’s going to be the same regardless of, I guess if I win this week, the stakes are significantly lower the next two, but if I don’t win this week, then the states are going to continue to rise at Talladega and at Martinsville. But, yeah, I would say that our process, our prep process, and gearing up the weekend has been the same as it was, at Las Vegas 1 or Iowa or any of the racetracks. I mean, I talk about this being my best opportunity, but I know that, I mean, I have won at Martinsville before, so we’ll hopefully take it week by week and I would love to love to get one that’s gotten away the last couple years here.”
What do you need from your seat about the points situation?
I mean, once again, it’s race by race, and the way that this format works, you, race one, you’re not really talking about points, and then race two, the chatter maybe comes up a little bit, but certainly race three that that’s what it’s all about. I go back to Martinsville, my predicament last year, I think at one point I got told late in the race that I needed a point, but the communication certainly wasn’t as clear as I would have liked to have been, and I remember crossing the finish line, not knowing what my one situation was and then, you know, how I have said, well, I think we’re in because we tied and so forth. So, I would have liked a little bit more communication last year at Martinsville. But, yeah, I mean, I don’t know, most of the drivers are out there, you know, are blind to what’s going on unless someone speaks up and I know that’s very sensitive right now with people talking on the radio about it, it’s just, I don’t know, it kind of feels a little bit gross. I would love to just, you know, be able to race and, you know, not have to worry about this, manipulation stuff.”
What do you mean ‘gross’?
“Just feeling like you can’t talk about something on the radio, like you just rather not have to worry about doing that. You just want to go out there and race and not think that. That’s what all of us want. We just want to go out there and lay it all in line all the time.”
How challenging is it to shift to a must win mindset?
“I don’t know. You know, you shift the mindset to focusing on wins, but in reality, last week at the road course, I obviously wanted to win. It’s not like I didn’t want to win. I guess the biggest change is the risk versus reward meter and you know, the Round of 8, you’re probably a lot more willing to take risks to go for wins than you would be in the Round of 12 or Round of 16, because you know that you know, the wins mean more now than they what they did in the previous rounds. I think the last year of Vegas proved that, I left here, and I didn’t win the race, but by all means, whenever I looked at the points, I thought we were in a really good spot and it didn’t pan out. So yeah, the wins mean more in the Round of 8 than any other round.
Is qualifying really important in Las Vegas?
“Vegas, I would say, is a place that qualifying doesn’t really have an impact on who wins the race, but it certainly has an impact on, you know, stage one points and especially if it goes green. I would say, if there’s yellow flags in the first stage, then qualifying becomes a lot less important, but the moment that there are no yellow flags, then, you know, you have to qualify well in order to get to a stage one points. So, it’s something that we definitely focus on.”
Any thoughts on the 750-horsepower change?
“Yeah, I mean, I’m super excited about it, and I’m glad that NASCAR and the teams, the engine builders have taken a step in the right direction. I think it will – it’s definitely going to play a role in the races. Especially with the tires, Goodyear has been bringing, you know a couple of years ago, we were talking about the road courses. The cars were just locked down, and I can promise you, last week at Charlotte Road Course, those things were anything but lockdown, and you give us more horsepower as what we had last week. It’s going to be a big deal. So, I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction.”
How are you staying out of your own head with the pressure of winning this race?
“Yeah, I mean, it’s tough. I would say it’s easier once or it’s easy once you get into the race car and, you know, all eight of us are going to be super nervous tomorrow whenever we walk out to pre-race and, you, do driver intros and do the national anthem and all that stuff. But at least for me, speaking for myself, you know, once you get into that race car, it all goes away, and the only thing that matters is, you know, trying to do your job. So, yeah, certainly, you know, the pressure’s on and you feel it. But I love it. I live for it, and I certainly rather be in this position than not be in it. So yeah, it all goes away whenever you in the race car, but, you know, outside of the race car, you feel it.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 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.
