Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell has been among the best drivers within the 2025 Cup Sequence season to date. He has three wins throughout the primary sixteen races and sits third on the factors desk, solely behind William Byron and Kyle Larson. One of many greatest causes for his constant success in inventory automobile racing is his extracurricular stint in dust tracks.
Bell’s roots in motorsports will be traced again to dust tracks and dash automobile races much like Larson’s. Because of the assist by Joe Gibbs, he has continued racing part-time in them whereas persevering with his full-time position as the driving force for the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE. In a current interview with Jeff Gluck, he spoke about simply how vital this different side of his profession is.
He mentioned, responding to a query that Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez had requested him by Gluck, that he has raced in ten dust races thus far in 2025 and that he’ll find yourself racing in 20 or 30. He continued, “Do I feel operating a dust automobile straight helps operating a Sunday Cup automobile? I don’t. However it’s a nice psychological reset to simply get away from the grind of the Cup Sequence.”
Whereas he doesn’t perceive the reasoning behind it, he does admit that racing properly in a dash automobile helps him race higher in a inventory automobile and vice versa. The most important objective behind his pit stops on dust tracks is to chill out when he isn’t having a superb weekend on the ovals. He values the distraction that it provides significantly and defined the identical in some element.
“I don’t know what number of instances all through my profession, you may have a foul Sunday, you debrief on Monday, and then you definately’re off Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, simply stewing in your mistake or your dangerous race,” he mentioned. “When you have one thing through the week to exit and put your deal with one thing else, it helps to interrupt that psychological slide.”
Bell received within the Non-Wing Outlaw division of the 2025 Tulsa Shootout by beating Larson in a photograph end. He additionally received the annual Chili Bowl Race of Champions, an invite-only occasion that entails among the greatest superstars within the dust racing world.
Judging from his admission that he will probably be racing much more this 12 months, Bell is simply going to safe many extra such prestigious victories. And if he retains this up, it can solely enhance his possibilities of changing into a Cup Sequence champion.
