Editor’s note: This continues a series where we review the top 20 drivers in 2023 NASCAR Cup Series points.
Season in review: Christopher Bell
No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Crew chief: Adam Stevens
Final 2023 Ranking: 4th
Key stats: 2 wins, 10 top fives, 19 top 10s, 599 laps led
How 2023 ended: Bell continued to develop into one of the most successful young drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Not only did he reach the Championship 4 round for the second straight season, but five of his six career Cup wins have come in the last two seasons (three in 2022 and two in 2023). Unfortunately, his championship hopes came to an early and abrupt end in the 2023 Championship 4 event at Phoenix when he was prematurely knocked out and finished last (36th), due to a brake rotor that exploded one-third of the way through the race.
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Best race: Bell’s best race was his first win of the season, on the dirt surface at Bristol. That he won was not a surprise, given his lengthy and successful resume of competing on dirt throughout his racing career, particularly in sprints and midgets. Bell led 100 of the 250 laps en route to his win at Bristol. For an encore, Bell returned to Bristol in mid-September to start from the pole and led 187 laps in the 500-lap event, ultimately finishing a close third to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin.
Other season highlights: Bell started the season off in excellent fashion, finishing third in the Daytona 500, the highest finish of his career on a superspeedway. Beginning with his win on the dirt at Bristol, Bell led the Cup Series standings for the next three weeks and was ranked second following the three races after that. Bell showed his clutchness yet again in the playoffs, picking up a thrilling win at Homestead to earn a spot in the Championship 4 after finishing second in Las Vegas the week before in the Round of 8.
Stat to know: Bell is becoming quite prolific when it comes to earning the pole position. After failing to earn even one pole in his first two full-time Cup seasons, he earned four in 2022 and a career-high six in 2023 (including three consecutive poles to start the playoffs at Darlington, Kansas and Bristol).
Quotable: “That was my first time I’ve ever exploded a rotor in my career. So, yeah, I was surprised. … I mean it stings to not have a shot at the end of it obviously. We were all four (Championship 4 finalists) really close and we all four showed strengths at different times. … I’m very proud of the effort put forth by our team to get to the Championship 4, but I do feel like we left a lot on the table at various races throughout the year. I’m excited about the future. We haven’t reached our potential yet.” – Bell on the freak rotor explosion that knocked him out of the championship race, costing him a chance at the title.
RELATED: Strong start to 2023 for Christopher Bell putting field on notice
Looking ahead: Bell has become one of the biggest threats to win virtually every time he takes the green flag to start a race. After reaching the Championship 4 each of the last two seasons, only to come up short both times, don’t be surprised if Bell finds his way back to Phoenix in 2024 for the third time in a row and get his turn to take home the NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy.