Christopher Bell Drives to Hard Fought, Clean COTA Victory

Christopher Bell celebrates his win in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA). (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)

DEL VALLE, Texas — Christopher Bell has been making a case of becoming one of the best closers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Much like the win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bell came through in the clutch, capitalizing in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in riveting style.

While Bell bided his time from his 19th starting position, polesitter Tyler Reddick and rookie Shane van Gisbergen led the way ahead of some early race chaos. Chase Elliott, who qualified third, was hit hard by ninth place starter Ross Chastain in Turn 1.

As Chastain drove away, Elliott lost valuable track position despite placing fifth in Stage 1. Meanwhile, with the primary contenders pitting late to gain track positions ahead of Stage 2, Bubba Wallace won Stage 1 ahead of Joey Logano with van Gisbergen, Kyle Busch, Elliott, Reddick, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suárez, William Byron and AJ Allmendinger placing in the top 10.

It was clean and green in Stage 2 for most of the field save for Larson as he fell outside the top 10, exceeded track limits in Turn 3 resulting in a stop-and-go penalty and a loose front wheel following an uncharacteristically off pit stop. Larson was tagged with a two-lap penalty, essentially curtailing his efforts at a strong finish.

Meanwhile, van Gisbergen, Busch and AJ Allmendinger took turns in the lead before the contenders utilized the strategy of short pitting to valuable positions in Stage 3. Ryan Preece captured the Stage 2 win ahead of Ryan Blaney, Michael McDowell, Busch, van Gisbergen, Allmendinger, Byron, Wallace, Bell and Suárez.

The race’s complexion changed in Stage 3 with a couple of incidents that bunched the field together, mainly with Suárez and Connor Zilisch, in his Cup debut, crashing in Turn 19 on Lap 52 and a Turn 6A tangle involving Austin Dillon and Denny Hamlin.

All the while, Busch, who led six times for 42 laps, made a compelling case to snap his 59-race winless streak. Busch, starting eighth, made his No. 8 Chevrolet as wide as possible to hold off the challenges from Bell, Byron, Allmendinger and van Gisbergen.

Once Allmendinger dropped back due to a bad set of tires, Busch ardently attempted to hold off Byron and Bell. Despite Byron taking the lead on Lap 82, Busch retook the number one spot a lap later with Bell reasserting himself into the picture.

In the final 13 laps, the battle for the win looked like a short track race without the carnage. Busch, Bell, Reddick and Byron raced each other tenaciously yet cleanly, making the decisive fight into a compelling, tactical struggle.

On Lap 90, just six circuits from the finish, Bell took the lead from Busch prior to Turn 1 thanks to a good run off Turns 19 and 20. Byron and Reddick followed suit with Elliott clawing his way back inside the top five.

Even with Busch losing the lead and Byron playing the role of the pursuer, Bell drove defensively and wisely. Much like Atlanta, Bell’s timely tactics served him well, this time emerging victorious at COTA over Byron by 0.443 seconds.

Capturing two of the first three races of the season, Bell does not exactly have a message to send to the field, but more a reminder of his team’s execution.

Christopher Bell was not going to be denied of a victory in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)

“I don’t really have a message to send to any of them, but it’s nice to be able to capitalize on race wins,” Bell said. “Last year, there were so many race wins that got away whenever I had the fastest car. The last two weeks at Atlanta and here I kind of won without the fastest car, so it’s really nice to get those back that I lost last year.”

Adam Stevens, the crew chief for Bell, offered an insightful response to his team’s strong start.

“It’s as much a message to ourselves as it is anything,” Stevens said. “We felt like second half of last year that we really polished up our weaknesses and didn’t feel like there was a track that we go to on the schedule that we don’t have the capability to win.

“I think this kind of showcases that. You know, we didn’t unload the best. We had some work to do, and we were able to close that gap with very limited practice time and very limited amount of things to change.”

By far, Bell and Stevens are maximizing each weekend from start-to-finish. It all seems to be coming together so efficiently and early for the No. 20 team.

“Bell did a masterful job of getting everything out of the car without making mistakes he couldn’t recover from and really played the laps to his strengths and just willed that thing to the front,” Stevens observed. “I think this is really what this team is capable of going forward.

“I felt that for a while, and it’s nice to have all of the other pieces of the puzzle… the decision-making, the pit stops, the changes, the communication… to facilitate that.”

Joe Gibbs, known for his success with the Washington Commanders in the NFL and, naturally, his stock car team since 1992, recognized the synergy with his No. 20 team, mainly with Bell and Stevens.

“I think in football every now and then you have a team that really had a great feeling about themselves, were really confident, and a great chemistry,” Gibbs said. “It doesn’t happen often, and it doesn’t carry over from one year to the other, but when you kind of get that, I think it’s a great feeling when you see it as a coach or an owner. I think that’s what we have with the 20 team.

“Adam, great leader I think. I think he’s got a young guy there that’s gaining confidence, and I think the whole team, the pit crew — I do think it’s hard to put everything together in Cup, but I do think, like Adam said, we have it all together. God has given us a great group of people, and we have great support people back at the race shop. I hate it for them that they’re not in the winner’s circle with us, but we’ll get them tomorrow and hang a banner and tell them how much we appreciate them.”

It was a matter of just over 0.4 seconds for Byron to potentially defend his COTA victory. Instead, he walked away from Sunday’s race with a runner-up and a slim points lead over Blaney.

“Yeah, it was really close. I feel like the battle between he (Bell) and (Kyle) Busch,” Byron said. “I was just sitting there waiting for one of them to bobble or slide their tires. Bell got by him and I felt like once he got by him and clear, his car was super loose and it kind of gave me a couple of shots at him. I just couldn’t ever get beside him. We have always raced really well together, so I didn’t want to move him blatantly. We were just sliding there a ton at the end. ”

Reddick nearly won again at COTA like he did in 2023 with a late race attack. Although he captured a podium finish, he could not help but consider how things would have played out had Stage 2 played more in their favor.

“It was fun. Certainly 6A and 6B, presented some interesting challenges,” Reddick said. “I feel bad for the grounds crew here and everybody at this facility because they’ve done a lot to try to keep us out of the grass, and we just keep finding ways to get right there in the grass.

“All in all, it was a good recovery for us and our Beast Toyota Camry. It was nice to get a good finish out of it but the what ifs sting a little bit. If we could’ve had a better stretch in the middle of the race, I think we could’ve been a little closer to make that charge in the end.”

Christopher Bell celebrates with wife, Morgan, after winning Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)

Even with Bell’s successes since joining the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team in 2021, he wanted to improve upon his craft and performance. It may be too early to think about a championship but contending for wins and scoring maximum points are realistic, reachable goals following their COTA win.

With the Shriners Children’s 500 set for Sunday, Mar. 9, at Phoenix Raceway, Bell, the defending race winner, may be the driver to beat for the third consecutive week.

“I’m excited about what’s to come,” Bell offered. “We have high expectations and high hopes and goals for this year. Frankly, the last couple of years being at Joe Gibbs Racing in this No. 20 car, I haven’t been living up to the standards that I hold for myself.

“Our goal going into 2025 is to do that, or my goal is to do that for myself. I know, Adam Stevens, he feels the same way. He feels that we’re capable of a lot of great things. We haven’t done that yet in the NASCAR Cup Series season. Maybe 2025 will be the year.”

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Bubba Wallace
2. Joey Logano
3. Shane van Gisbergen (R)
4. Kyle Busch
5. Chase Elliott
6. Tyler Reddick
7. Kyle Larson
8. Daniel Suárez
9. William Byron
10. AJ Allmendinger

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Ryan Preece
2. Ryan Blaney
3. Michael McDowell
4. Kyle Busch
5. Shane van Gisbergen (R)
6. AJ Allmendinger
7. William Byron
8. Bubba Wallace
9. Christopher Bell
10. Daniel Suárez

EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas Race Results