TOYOTA RACING – Christopher Bell
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
LOUDON, NH (August 22, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to the media on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race from New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
You come into the truck race today a little further back, how does that change your approach to the race today?
“Certainly not off to a great start for the truck race. It’s going to be a challenge to get up to the field. You know, it takes a lot of time to pass cars.
I’m going to have to make the most of the restarts. Hopefully the yellow flags fall to where we can, get some strategy and get up there. I was optimistic about the truck on the long run yesterday in practice. I was struggling for grip whenever we took off, but it seemed like the longer we went the hotter the tires got and I felt like I was in a pretty good spot. We are going to need the race to play out really well for us, but I love racing here. I’m excited about the challenge.”
You are currently 20 points out of fifth place in the standings. How much are you following that over the next two weeks?
“That’s been the name of the game, especially really the last month or so. We’ve been really focused on the tight battle between 5th and 10th. At one time I was on the losing side of it, and now we’re making our way up. (Chase) Briscoe had a great day last week at Richmond and got a little bit of separation, but the good news for me is that I seem to have gotten some separation from that 10th, ninth place area.
So, yeah, still focused on that. We know that this is a huge opportunity for us and then Daytona is going to be a complete unknown. I think this one is kind of in our hands to where we can control our own destiny.
And then Daytona, we’re just going to go out there and basically go to Vegas and gamble and see what happens. I’m happy that we got some separation from those guys. Obviously with Briscoe having that huge day at Richmond, we got some ground to make up on him. Myself and Chase Elliott are tied for sixth place. I think we’re in as good a spot as we could have asked for given the circumstances of 2026 for us.”
Can you explain what you’re learning in all three national series compared to the past since you run all three series extensively?
“With the introduction of the NextGen car and even the last couple years of the Gen 6 car, the aerodynamics of the Truck relate a lot more to the Cup car than the O’Reilly Series car. The O’Reilly Series car is kind of a low downforce, low drag, lots of off throttle time. A Cup car in recent years has been more of the high downforce, lots of on throttle time, which matches and gets more aligned with the Truck series. With the new car, the way that you’re creating the downforce is a lot different. So, there are probably more similarities to a Truck, but even that being so, they are still very much on their own. The Cup cars are very much on their own island. People ask me if it if it helps me and it really is just for the love of the game at this point.”
You posted a picture with deep admiration towards Kyle Busch this week. What were you thinking about posting the photo?
I think we were at a dirt track and just Kyle, whenever he was away from his day job, he was very enjoyable to be around. Fun to hang out with and lighthearted, always cutting up and cracking jokes. I don’t exactly remember what happened in that moment. We had a lot of good memories at the dirt tracks throughout those last couple of years whenever we were racing.”
Entering this weekend, you have 12 career starts and you have seven wins across all three national series here at New Hampshire. What is it about this track that just suits your driving style?
I think I’ve just had good cars. I’ve had great cars every time that I’ve come here between Kyle Busch Motorsports when I started in the Truck Series. One thing that was super beneficial for me was whenever my pavement career started at KBM, we came up here a lot. Even before I ran my first Truck Race, we came up and ran a super late model race with the KBM late model program. And then before my first Truck race we came up and used one of our NASCAR rookie tests at this racetrack because it was one of the first playoff races that we had in the Truck Series. So before I ran my first truck race I had a late model start and a truck test, which was super beneficial. And then from that truck test, we had a great setup and had really fast trucks between 2016 and 2017 that led to good results. And then Joe Gibbs Racing’s resume speaks for itself. Just having seat time here, this is a unique place that people don’t get a lot of seat time at just because historically it’s had one race a year. Then the trucks and the O’Reilly Series don’t both come here at the same time. There are just a lot of the younger guys that are coming into the sport don’t have a lot of seat time here and I was fortunate enough to get that seat time before I got into the Cup Series.”
Can you explain what the grind is like right now trying to climb from 10th and beyond to get to fifth in points. You have a lot to race for even in the old system, but is there a difference in what the grind is like from now to last year as well?
“The grind of the schedule was a lot harder last year with that. We had one off week, and it was Easter weekend and then we had 20 something races in-a-row. That was brutal last year. So at least I feel like the schedule being broken up a lot more this year having that extra off weekend and a couple weeks ago was great. But the new format has put a lot more pressure on every single race. The previous playoff format you very much have this win or bust mentality throughout the regular season. You’re racing for wins. And if you don’t have an opportunity to win, it’s like, okay, well, we’ll try again next week and just kind of put it behind you. Now, every single stage, every race, every position, all those points matter and have an impact on where you’re going to be whenever the Chase starts and then you’re seeding in the Chase. I would say the pressure of the week to week has been a lot more this year and it’s just going to ramp up whenever the Chase starts. But in all reality, the races that we’re doing now before the Chase starts have as big of an impact as those in the Chase. This format has definitely put pressure on the teams and the drivers. And based off what you’re saying, if you had a season like this year, last year, with the runner-ups, that wouldn’t have been as painful now because it’s been more gratifying now with this format. Because the previous format you got the bonus points, which were the only thing that transferred from race wins. If I would have had seven second place finishes last year and no wins, that would have been that would have been brutal. But at least in this format the bonus points are gone. It’s just the one point standing structure and we have been able to string together some solid point days. I think that it’s been a lot more gratifying this year to have those seven runner-up finishes than it would have been in the year in the previous format.”
Is there really a true reset heading into the Chase when you are riding the momentum that you are right now?
I think there’s going to be less of a reset this year. I don’t think anybody truly knows how it’s going to feel, but definitely in the previous format it did feel like you’re starting over fresh and the points kind of reset. They did reset to your bonus points, so this time your regular season finish is going to be where you get seeded. I don’t think any of us exactly know how it’s going to feel, but certainly the thing that I appreciate is that these races we’ve done since February matter, and they impact what’s going to happen in the Chase. So, every race is as is more important in this format, which I greatly appreciate.
Could you argue that doing well right now in July and August and heading into it, though, is a bit more of a benefit for it?
“It will be rewarded. It will be rewarded where the seven second place finishes meant nothing in the previous format, but now I’m getting rewarded for those finishes and those races that obviously came up short but still got a lot of points. So, I’ve enjoyed racing under this format.”
What is it about the Penske cars that make them so good on flatter tracks like here at New Hampshire, Martinsville and Phoenix?
“I think it comes down to strengths and weaknesses. The Toyotas right now, our strengths are going fast. If we go to the high-speed tracks where downforce matters a lot, it seems like we have a good package at the intermediates, Michigan, Pocono, even the Nashville style tracks. Then these shorter tracks, it seems like the Penske cars have the advantage where it comes to more mechanical grip. I don’t really know why that is, but certainly over the last 12 months for sure, you could argue even longer than that with the championships that they have. They’ve been really good at Richmond, they’ve been really good here at Loudon. I think they’re going to be the cars to beat again. This is definitely their strength right now.”
In addition to Denny Hamlin, who else do you see as guys you’re going to have to beat for the championship?
“Obviously all of the Toyota cars are going to be really good, you have four in the top seven of the standings right now. Any of us could get hot and go on a run. From what we’ve seen over the past year of guys being able to make up the positions, Joey Logano’s doing it right now. He came from way outside the cut line and now he’s inside the top 10 in points. I think the Chase is going to come down to who wins the most races?
And if that guy is seated eighth, ninth, 10th, if he wins the most races, I think he’s going to have a really good shot at the championship. It’s going to come down to execution, and I think the champion is going to have to win in the Chase.”
How aggressively are you approaching stage racing now that it comes down to the wire with every point?
“It’s mission critical right now. The stages really start on Saturdays with qualifying, and we had an okay Saturday last week at Richmond, but (Chase) Briscoe beat us on Saturday and that led to more points for them in Stage 1 and we were just never able to catch them. We’ve got to have a great Saturday today and that puts us in position to have good stages on Sunday. So, it’s mission critical and we are absolutely have our eyes on being in the top 10 in the stages and hopefully in the top five in the race.”
How much does the race here this weekend translate when you guys go to Gateway in the Chase?
“It’s a similar style racetrack being flat with longer straightaways. For me, this track has been unique in the aspect that the pavement is completely different to what we have at Gateway. I think Gateway and Phoenix are pretty copy paste. The asphalt aggregate, the banking, the grip level between Gateway and Phoenix are very, very similar. Here in Loudon, it’s super rough, it’s very slippery. The tire degradation’s a lot different. It just feels a lot different than what those other two tracks do. The only caveat was that Gateway and Phoenix were on different rules packages. Now it’s going to be aligned with the rules package, which will be really good. But this one feels different than Gateway and I would say Gateway and Phoenix feel more aligned, but this one here at New Hampshire feels a lot different than the other two.”
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