A driver who began in micro sprints, won three Chili Bowl Nationals and then built a Joe Gibbs Racing Cup career with a run of wins in 2025.
Christopher Bell is a Joe Gibbs Racing Cup driver who started on dirt tracks, won the 2017 Truck Series title and took his first Cup win on the Daytona road course in 2021. He has also won three Chili Bowl Nationals.
Christopher Bell is an American driver who began on Oklahoma dirt tracks and now competes full-time in NASCAR's Cup Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. He won the 2017 Truck Series championship, three Chili Bowl Nationals and his first Cup race on the Daytona road course in 2021.
How did Bell's racing start on dirt?
His earliest racing was in micro sprints on the I-44 oval in Oklahoma City and won the Lucas Oil ASCS2 Championship in 2010. He became USAC National Midget Champion in 2013 and won the Turkey Night Grand Prix in 2014.
In 2014 alone he claimed 24 USAC Midget victories and 26 dirt victories overall, a season that also included the Turkey Night Grand Prix. Asphalt Super Late Model racing followed in 2014, through Kyle Busch Motorsports. On May 7, 2014 he took the first World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series win of his career, at Jacksonville Speedway.
His Chili Bowl record is among the most notable of his dirt career. In 2017 he was the first Oklahoma native to take the title since Andy Hillenburg, in 1994, and he repeated the win in 2018 and 2019.
A driver who has won on dirt, in the Truck Series and in the Cup Series, with a Chili Bowl trophy case to match.
Why was his dirt racing restricted?
During 2023 and most of 2024 Joe Gibbs Racing reportedly restricted his dirt racing because of concerns about injury risk. He was kept out of marquee events such as the Chili Bowl during that stretch.
He returned to dirt in late 2024, after the ban was lifted. His comeback included a win in the Non-Wing Outlaw division at the Tulsa Shootout, his first there since 2018, and a victory at the World of Outlaws season opener.
How did Bell reach NASCAR's national series?
In 2015 Bell made two K&N Pro Series West starts for Bill McAnally Racing, and that June he made his Truck Series debut at Iowa for KBM, finishing fifth in the American Ethanol 200. Later that summer he replaced Justin Boston in the No. 54 at Kentucky.
His first Truck win came in the Mudsummer Classic at Eldora Speedway in 2015. He held off Bobby Pierce on the final green-white-checkered restart to take it, a result that set up his move to full-time Truck racing.
The 2016 season began with a frightening crash at Daytona, when a collision on the last lap sent his truck into a barrel roll. At Atlanta he was leading on his way to a win before a blown tyre sent him into the wall. He recovered to win once that season, at Gateway, and finish third in the standings.
What did the 2017 season deliver?
In 2017 he won the Truck race at Atlanta after passing Matt Crafton for the lead. Five victories, fifteen top-fives and 21 top-tens closed the year, and on November 17 he clinched the Truck Series championship.
He also made his Xfinity debut that year, finishing fourth despite an early spin from Ryan Reed. He won his first Xfinity race at Kansas in his fifth start in the series. The Truck title was decided among four drivers in the Championship 4, with Bell, Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter and Austin Cindric in the final race. Bell's consistency through the playoffs carried him past the rest of the group, and the win gave him the first major championship of his stock car career.
How did the 2018 and 2019 Xfinity seasons unfold?
Joining Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 20 car full-time, Bell stepped up to the Xfinity Series in 2018. His first win of the year came at Richmond in April, where he beat teammate Noah Gragson to the line, and in July he swept three straight races at Kentucky, New Hampshire and Iowa.
That streak was the first by a full-time series regular since Dale Earnhardt Jr. did it in 1999. He returned to Richmond in September to complete a season sweep of the track, which carried him into the playoffs, and he set a rookie win record in the series with a win at Dover in October.
A win at ISM Raceway on November 10, 2018 advanced him to the Championship 4 after he had been in a must-win position following poor finishes at Kansas and Texas. He finished eleventh at Homestead and fourth in the points.
In 2019 he returned for a second full-time Xfinity season. A sixth at Daytona opened the season, and a week later Atlanta went his way in a dominant drive. That victory was the first for the Toyota Supra in the series, and his Bristol win in April also paid a $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus.
Further wins at New Hampshire in July, Road America in August and Texas in November kept him near the top, and he finished third in the points after a fifth at Homestead.
How did his seasons compare across the national series?
| Season | Series and team | Points | Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Truck, KBM | Third | One win, at Gateway |
| 2017 | Truck, KBM | Champion | Five wins and 21 top-tens |
| 2018 | Xfinity, Joe Gibbs Racing | Fourth | Rookie win record at Dover |
| 2019 | Xfinity, Joe Gibbs Racing | Third | First road course win at Road America |
| 2020 | Cup, Leavine Family Racing | Twentieth | Two top-fives and seven top-tens |
| 2021 | Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing | Twelfth | First Cup win, on the Daytona road course |
| 2022 | Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing | Third | Career-best points finish |
| 2023 | Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing | Fourth | First win at the Bristol dirt race |
| 2025 | Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing | Fifth | Three straight wins to open the run |
How did his 2020 Cup debut go?
Leavine Family Racing named Bell as its No. 95 Toyota driver for 2020 in September 2019. Jason Ratcliff, who had been his Xfinity crew chief, followed him to the new team.
In Leavine's final season Bell recorded two top-fives and seven top-tens, finishing twentieth in the points. That result earned him a seat in Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 20 for 2021.
What did his first Cup win look like?
Bell's first Cup victory came in only his second race for Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 20, on the Daytona road course. He passed Joey Logano late in the race to take the win.
The victory made him the first Oklahoma-born winner in the Cup Series, and he became the 35th driver to win in all three of NASCAR's main series. It was also the 100th win by a driver in the modern era.
In July 2021 he went back to the Xfinity Series at New Hampshire and led 151 of 200 laps on his way to a win. He finished the Cup season twelfth in the points.
How did the 2022 and 2023 seasons go?
In 2022 Bell won at New Hampshire, which made him the 14th different winner of the season. He added playoff wins at the Charlotte Roval and at Martinsville, and he finished a career-best third in the points.
The 2023 season began with a third at the Daytona 500, followed by his first win at the Bristol dirt race. A Homestead win carried him into the title round, but a right-front brake failure at Phoenix sent him into the wall and he finished fourth in the standings.
What was 2024 like?
In 2024 Bell finished third at the Daytona 500 and won at Phoenix, Charlotte and New Hampshire. His playoff run ended at Martinsville, where he hugged the outside wall in a manoeuvre resembling Ross Chastain's Hail Melon, a move NASCAR had banned in 2023.
NASCAR penalised him to 22nd, a lap down, and he was eliminated from the playoffs. He also drove the JGR No. 20 to Xfinity wins at New Hampshire and Darlington that year.
How strong was the 2025 season?
Bell began 2025 with a 31st-place retirement at the Daytona 500, but he then won three races in a row at Atlanta, Austin and Phoenix. The Phoenix win made him the first driver to take three straight races in the Next-Gen era.
He won the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro after taking two right-side tyres during a late caution, and later won a playoff race at Bristol. He was eliminated in the Round of 8 and still finished fifth in the standings, his second straight fifth-place finish.
Bell's Truck start at Watkins Glen came after injuries to Stewart Friesen, which led Halmar Friesen Racing to call him up. Bell also drove in other series that year. He finished 25th in an Xfinity race at Darlington after a restart incident, and in a Truck start at Watkins Glen he led 30 laps and finished fourth.
What has 2026 brought so far?
The 2026 season has mixed speed with bad luck. At Phoenix in March Bell led 176 of 312 laps and held the lead, but a late caution led to a final stop that left him outside the top five, and he finished second to Ryan Blaney.
At Nashville in May a late caution set up a four-lap dash that let Denny Hamlin pass him for the win, and Bell finished second by 0.115 seconds. At Michigan in June Chase Elliott made contact with him, and a fractured left wrist was confirmed days later, though he was cleared to race at Pocono.
He eventually broke through at the Southern 500, which was his first win there after seven runner-up finishes.
His Daytona 500 started the 2026 campaign with a 35th-place finish after a DNF, and the Phoenix and Nashville results showed how close the season had come to being much better.
How did CB Industries begin?
Bell and Chad Boat launched CB Industries in September 2019 to field World of Outlaws sprint cars. The team's first race brought a win at the Jim Ford Classic, a result that gave the new operation an immediate boost.
Bell has also appeared as a guest analyst on NASCAR on The CW, joining the crew in 2026.
What is Bell's legacy so far?
Bell has combined a USAC midget title, a NASCAR Truck championship and Cup wins, a record that spans dirt and asphalt.
His 2025 run of three straight wins and his 2026 near-misses show a driver whose speed has stayed consistent even when results have not.
