HAMPTON, Ga. — Dirt to … Atlanta?
Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson are known for their success in the dirt-racing ranks and have taken those talents to become two of NASCAR’s superstars.
In 2021, Larson put together a historic 10-win season culminating in his first Cup Series championship.
From the Truck Series, Xfinity Series and now a Cup veteran for six seasons, Bell has proven he can win in any vehicle and has already competed in the Cup Series Championship 4 twice (2022, 2023). Despite falling short of a title, Bell has only shown he’s improving across the 36-race schedule.
But there has been a kink in the armor for the two talents — drafting tracks.
MORE: Race results | At-track photos
Before Bell’s victory Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the two drivers were a combined 0-for-75 on drafting tracks. The average finishes for both weren’t anything to write home about, either, with Bell at 18.9 and Larson at 22.9. However, instead of entering this weekend with a negative attitude, Bell and Larson were able to accept the racing discipline and walked away with top-three results at the 1.5-mile track. Now, it seems like their friendly rivalry knows no bounds.
“Honestly, I think he genuinely likes it,” crew chief Cliff Daniels told NASCAR.com about Larson’s mindset on big tracks. “He hopped out of the car just now, even finishing third, and had a smile on his face and said he had a lot of fun. The racing is intense, but because it is intense, there’s just so many things happening, and a lot of moving around. It’s fun to watch, and I can only imagine that it’s fun to drive. So I don’t think Kyle has any negative outlook on these races. We’ve just had a hard time getting finishes. And honestly, a lot of these races we’ve run up front, and today was no different. The difference was we were in the right place at the right time to get a good finish and not get taken out. It’s a lot of fun with what this track and what this package has kind of evolved to.”
Completing every lap at Atlanta had been a struggle for Larson entering Sunday. He finished only one of the first six races since the reconfiguration in 2022, a 13th place in the summer of 2022.
But as the Atlanta surface continues to age after its 2022 repave, handling issues and tire wear are slowly beginning to reappear. With the best drivers being able to manage those obstacles, Sunday allowed for Larson and Bell to showcase those skills amid quick thinking in a large pack, finding themselves 1-2 on the final lap.
“Those two are so good at finding different lanes and finding grip and building a run and all those things,” Daniels said. “They’re both so good at it and they push each other a lot at it. Kyle and I talked about it over the winter, it’s a lot of fun to see Bell back in the mix on dirt tracks. I know that those two are going to push each other in a great way competitively, dirt, pavement, whatever they drive. It’s fun to watch those two battle.”
Entering the weekend, Bell’s crew chief Adam Stevens emphasized a mistake-free day on pit road and an optimal pit stall were keys to success at Atlanta.
However, Bell and the entire Joe Gibbs Racing camp started outside the top 25, leaving the No. 20 team with the 33rd pit stall smack in between multiple competitors on a tight pit lane.
“He just stayed really, really patient, and never asked more out of his car than it was capable, and never put himself in the spot he was going to regret,” Stevens said of Bell getting to the front after starting 32nd on Sunday. “As it turned out, we had a competitive car with decent balance at the end and he was just really on top of getting the runs and finding the pushes from behind and taking those runs and passing cars and getting himself cleared on the other side. That was a real testament to how much work he’s put into it. I think we saw a little bit of it last week, and then a continuation of it this week here at the speedway races.”
MORE: Three Up, Three Down: Atlanta in focus
Next up, the series heads to Circuit of The Americas, a road course that concludes a trilogy of “wild card” events to start the 2025 Cup season. But both Larson and Bell own multiple wins at road courses, and with Phoenix and Las Vegas on the horizon after that, the tandem could separate themselves from the rest of their Cup competitors.
“We’ve finished 1-2 a lot already this year, and honestly, would have been cool to be 1-2 again in the Cup Series here this week,” Larson said, also referring to their dirt battles in the opening months of 2025. “But he’s a really good driver, really good team and we are with our team. It’s fun to get to race with a guy I have raced with for a long time. Hopefully, you know, we’ll be battling for a lot more wins.”
For Bell, getting back to dirt racing was a passion of his, and after JGR lifted the restrictions on its drivers in the offseason, it offered the Norman, Oklahoma, native a chance to get back to his roots that fired him up even more for 2025 after a season where he said he left “a ton on the table.”
Just two races down this season … so far, so good.
“I definitely feel the best I have as a race car driver,” Bell said after his Atlanta win. “I’m sure that part of it is due to the fact that I’ve been racing through the offseason. So it’s a dream come true to be able to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in these Cup Series cars, and I’m honored and privileged to be able to have some fun outside of the Cup Series cars now. I hope that I can make this the best year ever and prove to the company that it’s the right thing for me to do to be out there racing.”