Christopher Bell Tallies Phoenix Victory

Christopher Bell emerged from his No. 20 car like a phoenix emerging from an ember with a Phoenix win. (Photo: Landen Ciardullo | The Podium Finish)

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Like a high school student wanting to ace the SATs, Christopher Bell and his No. 20 saw the fruits of their labor pay off on Sunday at Phoenix, site of November’s season finale.

In this case, Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 was a prelude to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race. Drivers and teams vie for strong performances and results in this 312-lap race to get a leg up on their competitors.

Since joining the No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE efforts in 2021, Bell has been a dependable top 10 performer with five top finishes in eight prior starts. However, last year’s season finale was a bitter experience for the Norman, Oklahoma, native, when he placed 36th due to a Turn 3 crash.

However, all of that would change for Bell and his Joe Gibbs Racing brigade despite a slow start to the race. Starting from the 13th position, Bell did not make up any ground in Stage 1 while Tyler Reddick, last Sunday’s runner-up, won this portion of the race, besting Ty Gibbs.

As Stage 2 was underway, it was evident that Reddick had one of the best cars, leading three times for 68 laps. Without any cautions, Bell charged his way up the leaderboard with a fast car, solid pit stops and steadfast leadership from crew chief Adam Stevens.

One of the race’s turning points was on Lap 181, when Bell passed Reddick for the lead and eventual Stage 2 win. This set the tone for what was a banner afternoon for the Toyota Racing brigade.

Before Stage 3 commenced, Bell had a slow pit stop, putting him behind the eight ball behind the leading contenders.

In the race’s final stage, Reddick and Denny Hamlin, the polesitter, would battle for the victory. Then, two cautions weeded out the competition with Kyle Busch’s backstretch spin on Lap 197 and a Turn 1 fracas involving Joey Logano, John Hunter Nemechek, Corey LaJoie, Derek Kraus, Zane Smith and Josh Berry,

Inside the final 97 laps, Hamlin spun in Turn 2 while dueling with Reddick for the lead. Hamlin had to dust off his spin to make up lost ground while the caution placed the lead lap contenders in a mixed agenda with their fuel window.

For a while, Martin Truex Jr., who inherited the lead on Lap 217, was in position to win at Phoenix for the first time the 2021 spring race. Leading for 55 laps, the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion pitted with 41 laps remaining, opting for four tires and fuel.

Bell returned to the lead on Lap 272, holding on to the number one position for the final 41 laps. Unlike last Sunday’s race at Las Vegas, Bell was victorious, besting Buescher to the stripe by 5.465 seconds.

Needless to say, the Oklahoman was elated with his seventh Cup victory in his 148th series start.

For the seventh time in 148 starts, Christopher Bell emerged victorious wiht a win at Phoenix. (Photo: Landen Ciardullo | The Podium Finish)

“Man, this one feels really good,” Bell said. “Just a credit to Adam (Stevens, crew chief), William (Hartman, engineer) My engineers and all of my mechanics, everyone on this JGR team.

“You don’t get cars like that very often as you know. Super, super proud to be on this 20 car. This Rheem Camry was amazing today. I feel like we have capability of running races like this a lot, so hopefully, this is the first of many this year.”

Based on Bell’s assessment of his No. 20 chariot, he may get a chance to win more races in 2024.

“I could kind of drive it wherever I wanted,” he said. “That thing was amazing. I know that those race cars don’t come very often. It was really, really nice to capitalize on that when you have a race car that good. We knew after Friday that we had a pretty good piece. Glad that we were able to deliver.”

After a rough outing at Las Vegas, Buescher was content with his runner-up at Phoenix. Even if the Prosper, Texas, native must find more speed with his No. 17 car, he was elated with his RFK Racing team’s efforts after two rough outings in a row.

“I was really impressed with our Ford Mustang today, that was awesome,” Buescher said. “A heck of a comeback after a rough go the last couple of weeks. We had really fast race cars and I am proud to be able to do that today. I didn’t quite see the 20 there at the end so I know they were lights out.

“We have some work to do to get to that point. What thrills me is we were by no means perfect on balance, so we have a lot of room to make this thing better which is awesome.

Ty Gibbs, a Cup sophomore, tallied a strong third place result, an effort not lost on the Charlotte, North Carolina, native.

“It was a good day for our Monster Energy Toyota Camry,” Gibbs said. “We just need a little bit more. We got in a hole there a little bit on pit road and got back through it. It was a good day and a really good recovery.”

Overall, Bell was smiling the widest among the field of 36 drivers. Mainly, he is proud of the gains that he and his No. 20 team made at the 1-miler, the venue that decides this year’s Cup champion.

“I don’t know. It’s no secret that Phoenix has been a little bit of a struggle for us,” Bell said. “After that first year of Next Gen – myself and Adam, we really sat down and said that Phoenix needs to be a focus point because I didn’t feel very good there the first two races in 2022.

“Then, in 2023, we were a little better each time. Today was lights out, so today is a great day for the company.”

Memories of the Turn 3 crash may linger in Bell’s mind from last year’s season finale. Then again, Sunday’s victory is the confidence booster that Bell can recall in eight months, particularly if he is a part of the Championship 4 field.

There will be little worries in Christopher Bell’s mind when it comes to Phoenix. (Photo: Landen Ciardullo | The Podium Finish)

“This is an important one,” he said. “If you’re not good here, you’re never going to be a champion. Just a dream come true. I’m so happy for all of our partners at Rheem, Toyota, TRD, DEWALT, Yahoo!, Mobil 1. This is a big team effort and I’m just the guy who gets to drive this thing.”

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Tyler Reddick
2. Ty Gibbs
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Erik Jones
5. Chase Elliott
6. William Byron
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Michael McDowell
9. Chase Briscoe
10. Martin Truex Jr.

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Christopher Bell
2. Tyler Reddick
3. Denny Hamlin
4. William Byron
5. Martin Truex Jr.
6. Ryan Blaney
7. Chase Elliott
8. Noah Gragson
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Chris Buescher

Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway Race Results