By Cole Cusumano, Staff Writer
Given what Christopher Bell has already accomplished throughout his young NASCAR Cup Series career, it’s bewildering to believe he’s yet to reach his full potential. Even coming off the most competitive and dominant campaign he’s ever had at the sport’s top rank, the driver of the No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing is confident the best is still yet to come.
Entering his fifth full-time bid in Cup, Bell established himself as one of the top competitors in the sport by reaching the Championship 4 in back-to-back seasons. Although a multi-race winner in that span, the driver from Norman, Okla., desired more dominance in the form of laps led and stage points in 2024 in order for him to feel he was a legitimate threat for his first title.
By the numbers, Bell hit career-best marks across the board in just about every statistically measurable category last season.
Beginning with the area emphasized most, Bell led 1,145 laps – over 540 more than his previous best the year prior – which was also second-most in the series behind Kyle Larson. His seven races with most laps led were also the most by any driver. Synonymously, time spent pacing the field translated to a successful season of stage racing. The No. 20 team amassed 11 stage wins and 267 stage points, shattering their record set the past two seasons of just four segment victories and 240 points.
“We’ve always had these flashes and moments of showing what we’re capable of, and we still have yet to reach our ceiling,” Bell said. “I think the addition of having our pit crew really put us over the edge and allowed us to lead laps. That was a really big focus on the season going into 2024. I wanted to lead laps, I wanted to win stages, and we were able to execute that.”
Evident speed led to three trips to victory lane, which matched Bell’s single-season record set back in 2022. This included his first crown-jewel win in the weather-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The only category he failed to best was poles, where he secured three, compared to his career-best six in 2023. However, two of his first-place starting spots came when it mattered most – in the playoffs.
Perhaps Bell’s most impressive feat, outside of his lap-leading dominance, was his average-finishing position of 12.8 – a slight improvement from the 12.9 accumulated in 2023, but good enough for second-best in the series to Chase Elliott. Additionally, the Toyota Racing Development driver posted an astounding 6.4 average over the last third of the season (12 starts) with the best average throughout the playoffs. This stretch included eight top fives, two runner-up outings and only a pair of finishes outside the top-10.
With numbers like that to close out the season, one would expect Bell to be a lock for a third consecutive trip to the Championship 4. However, the 30-year-old’s best season to date ended up being defined by a controversial penalty in the penultimate race at Martinsville (Virg.) Speedway, which knocked him out of contention and rewarded William Byron with the final spot on points.
Instead of fighting for his first championship yet again, Bell ended his career-best campaign by leading the most laps at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway, while picking up his 15th top-five of the season and 23rd top-10 – both best in the series and new single-season records.
While the No. 20 team and many others can’t help but wonder what could’ve been following a spectacular season, 2024 is officially in the rear-view with a clean slate on the horizon. Entering what should be the prime of his racing career at 30 years old and coming off a record-breaking campaign, 2025 could finally be the year Bell hoists the Bill France Cup.
“The thing that’s a shame is we’ve had a lot of race wins that have slipped away and that’s the reason why I say we haven’t reached our ceiling yet,” Bell said. “But, I think we’re gaining on it and each year we’ve improved. Maybe 2025 will be a break-out year for us.”