How lessons learned from testing helped Christopher Bell master Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Christopher Bell manufactured one of the most impressive walk-off wins in NASCAR playoff history with his October win at Martinsville Speedway in 2022. The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota needed a Hail Mary to advance to the Championship 4. So when the opportunity arose to muscle the lead away from Chase Briscoe with five laps to go in the season's penultimate race, Bell didn't hesitate, bursting through to score a career-defining victory. On Sunday, he and the NASCAR Cup Series return to the 0.526-mile oval for the NOCO 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). MORE: Full starting lineup | At-track photos: Martinsville "It's a venue that I'm very optimistic about going to, which I haven't been able to say that in the past," Bell told NASCAR.com Friday. "It's definitely under different circumstances with it being the spring race and not under the playoff pressure. But Martinsville is always going to be an extremely important track to be good at with where it's at in the playoff schedule. So important race coming up this weekend to see where we stack up." Bell had fair reason not to carry that optimism before last fall, the Martinsville numbers leaning heavily out of his favor prior to last year's triumph. In five prior starts, he had just one finish better than 15th (seventh, spring 2021) with just nine laps led. The turning point came during a test session at the short track in August 2022, where Bell found himself at the very bottom of the leaderboard. That's when one of his veteran teammates at JGR came into play. "We really, really, really struggled. I was position last, no kidding, literally last for two days in a row," Bell said. "And Denny Hamlin actually got in the 20 car, and he drove it and he was able to give some feedback. And then from that point on, I don't know what happened, but they came back in the fall, and the car was really good and I was able to drive it properly." Properly indeed. Bell led 150 laps en route to the win last fall -- second only to Hamlin's 203. In hindsight, seeking help from Hamlin seems a natural step considering his five grandfather clock trophies. "Martinsville is definitely a rhythm track and a place that the driver has to do a couple of certain things properly in order to get around the track well," Bell said. "And fortunately, I was able to pick up on that." Bell's breakthrough walk-off was his second of the 2022 postseason, previously winning at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course to advance into the Round of 8. But both victories were overshadowed in their own ways. In Charlotte, late-race chaos shook up much of the running order, with Bell in place to capitalize and lead the final two laps on the way to Victory Lane. Meanwhile, in Martinsville, Bell's Hail Mary played second fiddle to Ross Chastain's Hail Melon -- the daring last-lap, last-corner, since-banned wall ride that propelled him five spots up the leaderboard and into the Championship 4. WATCH: Chastain reflects on 'life-changing' move That hasn't fazed Bell, who enters Martinsville as the NASCAR Cup Series points leader and most recent victor after last week's dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway. "I mean, I don't really care," he said. "I've got more wins than the other guys so that's all I've got to say." Since the beginning of last season, Bell has won four times in the Next Gen car. That's tied with Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson and William Byron for second-most in that span, behind only Chase Elliott and Joey Logano who each have five wins. The results through eight races in 2023 -- one win, five top fives, six top 10s and 154 laps led -- show the No. 20 team of Bell and crew chief Adam Stevens reaching new heights in their partnership. "I think just our team is gelling together," Bell said. "Adam and I have been able to get more on the same page where he's able to week in and week out give me what I need to be competitive in the car. And you know, my feedback is probably starting to resonate a little bit better with him. So yeah, I mean, we're definitely clicking right now. "And it's not gonna last forever. So hopefully we can ride it out as long as we can." Their success has topped that of his JGR teammates, a roster that includes 2017 Cup champion Martin Truex Jr., 48-time winner Hamlin and Ty Gibbs, the defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion. The No. 20 Toyota is the only car from the quartet that has scored a top-five finish this season. "The stat book definitely doesn't look good for JGR or I guess the company as a whole throughout the season," Bell said. "But I will say Denny and Martin have both been in position to perform well. If Martin has a different tire strategy two weeks ago at Richmond, he probably wins the race. And then Denny has been in the hunt several times. And then Ty is obviously young, but he's building on a couple of top 10s in a row. "So they've been doing really well as a group; they just don't have the results to show for it. And I feel confident that at least a couple of them are gonna get to Victory Lane at some point." Bell rolls off 22nd to start Sunday's race at Martinsville.