Christopher Bell: ‘I can’t really picture’ supplanting any current JGR driver in Cup Series

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Christopher Bell sits in the upper reaches of the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings. He has one victory already this season, virtually assuring him a postseason berth. Plus, Bell rolls into Saturday's start at Bristol Motor Speedway with eligibility for the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus. So why do a fair share of the pre-race questions directed his way surround a possible jump to the Monster Energy Series, even with the 2020 season so far away? "It's cool, right?" Bell said Friday at the .533-mile track, on the eve of Saturday's Alsco 300 (1 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM). "I'm honored that people want to know where I'm going to go. That's better than people not caring, so that's really cool. I don't know. I wouldn't say it's a distraction just because it goes in one ear and out the other, so it's not anything that I have any input in. It's not like I can control that. The only thing that I can control is finishing races and hopefully winning races." Bell's success in the Xfinity Series -- nine wins in roughly a season and a half of competition, plus a NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship in 2017 -- have accelerated the talk about such a leap. This season, the Joe Gibbs Racing ace is the only driver to have led a lap in all six Xfinity races this season, and he sits just 12 points back of series leader Tyler Reddick. RELATED: Dash 4 Cash preview | Bristol weekend schedule His career may be earmarked for a move to the Monster Energy Series, but his path to NASCAR's top division is still unclear. Further muddying the ladder's rungs is news that Erik Jones -- one of Joe Gibbs Racing's four drivers in the premier series -- is inching toward a contract extension. But Bell says he doesn't see himself supplanting any of JGR's current foursome of Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Jones. "I never really pictured Erik being my hole, and if you look at the Gibbs camp right now, I can't really picture anyone being my hole because all four of their cars are running exceptional right now," Bell said. "I mean, if you watch any of the races, all four of them are right in the top five. So, I don't know. I don't know where I'm going to land, and I'm just enjoying the ride right now." One positive for Bell is the timing, with the so-called "silly season" not near reaching peak hilarity. "It's still early in the year," Bell said. "Normally, I don't figure out where I land until August-ish, so we're definitely way early in the year to know where I'm going to be."