HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — The adage that you can’t keep a good man down is playing out in real time in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The man is Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Bell started the year a dismal 35th in points after a crash took him out of the season-opening Daytona 500. But in the three races since, the 31-year-old racer from Norman, Oklahoma, has leapfrogged nearly the entire field to sit sixth in the championship standings heading into the Pennzoil 400 Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
A strong runner-up result last Sunday at Phoenix Raceway was the catalyst of Bell’s rise, as he jumped 18 spots. The effort that propelled him in the standings portends to help him again this weekend at Las Vegas.
“Typically, your front-runners at Phoenix are your front-runners at Las Vegas,” Bell said. “The races at Daytona and Atlanta are drafting tracks, and COTA is a road course. Phoenix was our first true oval that kind of showed where everyone stood.”
Bell’s recent pick up is impressive, but not surprising. Like the tagline of the Interstate Batteries logo adorning his No. 20 machine, Bell is outrageously dependable, particularly at Phoenix and Las Vegas.
After his first Cup Series start at Phoenix in March 2020 resulted in a 24th-place finish, Bell has since become a master of its flat and fast layout, winning twice and leading 474 laps. His second-place performance last Sunday served as his fourth top-five in the last five races at the desert mile.
Las Vegas might be an even better track for Bell, but with the glaring omission of a victory. He has three poles and has finished among the top-three three times in the last five races at the 1.5-mile oval, all while leading 216 laps.
“Vegas is probably my best track on the schedule that I haven’t won at,” Bell said. “Between the Truck Series and the O’Reilly Series, I’ve led a ton of laps there. Even in the Cup Series I’ve led a lot of laps there, yet still haven’t won. So we’re looking for that first Vegas win, and my first with Interstate Batteries as my primary partner. They’ve been with Joe Gibbs Racing since the beginning, and there’s a lot of pride that comes with carrying their colors. Some great names have won in Interstate Batteries green, and I’d like to add my name to the list. Vegas is a really good racetrack for me, and I know it could come at any time.”
Las Vegas’ importance also looms large on the entirety of the Cup Series schedule. It’s considered an intermediate-style oval, the kind that serves as the bread-and-butter of the calendar, where ovals from 1.3 miles to 2 miles comprise 30 percent of the races.
“Vegas is a true barometer of the intermediates,” Bell said. “It’s kind of like the last style of track that we haven’t been to yet this season, so it’s super important to take the data from Vegas and understand what it takes to be better for the rest of the season. Intermediate stuff is a big part of our schedule, so you need to make the most of it.”
Making the most of the Las Vegas weekend also means taking in the sprint car action Thursday-Saturday night at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track where Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing kicks off its season.
Bell’s racing roots are in dirt, further amplifying the Interstate Batteries connection. Bell came to NASCAR via the rough-and-tumble world of winged sprint cars and USAC Midgets. He was the 2013 USAC National Midget champion and owns 29 USAC victories, along with six World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series wins. When the opportunity comes to revisit the sprint car ranks, Bell doesn’t hesitate.
“I’m not going to be a participant. I’ll be a spectator this time,” clarified Bell, who has sometimes run a mid-week sprint car race ahead of a NASCAR weekend.
“It’s great to see Interstate Batteries get involved with High Limit Racing. They have such a rich history in racing, and that brings a new level of professionalism to grassroots racing. I know they’re going to do a good job with it.”