In NASCAR, an “aggressive strategy” means teams take bigger risks with timing—like pitting earlier or later than others—to try to get track position. If the race situation changes (like a caution), that risk can pay off.
“Track position” just means where you are on the track compared to other cars. In NASCAR, being ahead is a big deal because it can be hard to pass later.
“Ran out of fuel” means the car’s fuel level dropped too low to complete the planned distance, forcing the team to stop or lose laps. In NASCAR, fuel calculations are tightly linked to pit timing and caution periods, so running out late usually indicates the strategy didn’t play out as expected.
An “alternate strategy” means the team is doing something different from what most other cars are doing. Usually it’s about when to pit and how to manage fuel so they can gain position if the race changes.
Adam Stevens is the person on the team who helps run the race strategy—like when to pit and how to manage fuel. Here, he’s making a call intended to improve the car’s position on track.
“Top off” means adding a little extra fuel during a pit stop instead of filling up completely. It’s a way to manage how long you can stay out and still have enough gas to finish.
A “yellow flag” means the race is under caution because something happened on the track. Cars slow down and the field gets closer together, which can make it easier to gain position with pit stops.
Fuel mileage is basically how far the car can go on the amount of fuel it has. In a race, teams track it so they know when they’ll need to pit for gas.
A “racing incident” just means a crash or contact that happened during the race. It’s usually treated as an accident that can occur when cars are fighting for position.
A street course is a race track made from regular city streets. It’s usually tighter and harder than a normal track, so drivers have to be extra precise.
This is the road-course layout at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Instead of racing in circles, you drive a twisty course that tests braking and cornering.
Bowman Gray is a short track where races are usually very close and intense. Drivers have to be careful and precise because there’s less room for mistakes.
iRacing is a subscription sim-racing platform where users drive virtual versions of real tracks. When drivers mention “renderings on iRacing,” they’re talking about how the sim can help people learn new circuits before real-world practice.
This is talking about a NASCAR race near Nashville at a well-known track. Teams have to tune the car to stay stable and keep good grip through the turns.
This is talking about a NASCAR race in Charlotte, at a famous speedway. Tracks like this are where teams test how well their cars handle at high speed.
They’re talking about the Toyota cars in NASCAR. The claim is that Toyota teams currently have the fastest cars, so they’re more likely to contend for wins.
“Crossover to NASCAR” means switching into NASCAR from a different kind of racing. The speaker is saying he didn’t plan on making that move, but it worked out.
The “truck series” is NASCAR’s series where the race cars look like pickup trucks. It’s often where drivers build experience before moving to bigger NASCAR races.
Eldora is a well-known dirt race track. The speaker is saying he won a dirt race there, which shows he could handle a very different surface than normal asphalt racing.
A “parts failure” means something on the race car broke or didn’t work correctly. In a season, that can cost you races and make it much harder to win the championship.
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Once you're on the track, it is in your hands to go out there and beat your competitors and I love the thrill of competition.
And I want to ask about your acting skills and whether or not you have an Oscar-worthy performance.
Acting's not my day job and I will not blame that one.
California's Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour!
Welcome in to Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour presented by NASCAR on Fox.
I'm Caitlin Vinci and so excited to have a special guest with us today.
Driver of the number 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Christopher Bell is here ahead of a very unique and exciting weekend for the sport.
And of course we'll talk plenty about San Diego, but before we do,
I want to go back a few days to Pocono.
Christopher, obviously you were racing with an injury.
You toughed it out.
I'm sure it was difficult.
You managed to just tell me what that experience though was like for you in Pocono.
Yeah, it was it was eye-opening.
That's for sure.
I think I probably got a little too optimistic on what to expect after Michigan.
I was super happy that that my head was okay after Michigan.
And I was like, I'm going to be able to tough this out.
My wrist fracture is not going to be a hindrance.
I'm going to get in the car and be fine.
And yeah, it just it didn't really work out that way.
You know, we fortunately had a really aggressive strategy to put us in position
to potentially get a win or really get a finish out of it.
And it didn't work out.
We ran out of fuel late.
But yeah, it was something that's for sure.
You are one tough competitor.
I got to hand it to you.
You mentioned that alternate strategy with the fuel that Adam Stevens was
kind of deploying there.
What was kind of going through your mind in the race car?
And what is that like when it's like, is this going to last?
Am I going to run out?
What's going to happen here?
Yeah, I mean, it was I don't know that I've ever been in that position
to be off sequence and off site off cycle like that.
But whenever we came in to top fuel off, I think it was, you know, kind of a last
ditch effort to try and get some track position.
We, you know, we didn't have the pace of the front runners.
And so we were mired back in the 20s all day and Adam, you know, made a call
to come in and top off and hopefully we could flip the track position
if the yellow flag came out.
And we were banking on a yellow coming out and being able to stay out.
Everyone else was going to have to pit and cycle us to the front.
So we didn't really have making it to the end on our agenda, but just the way
that the run played out, I was able to, you know, find myself in a really good spot,
able to catch a draft off of the competitors in front of me.
And our pace was really, really good too.
So our fuel mileage looked amazing for about the first 10 or 15 laps of that run
whenever we got single filed out.
And then it made my team and myself, I guess optimistic that we're going to have
a shot at making it.
And then whenever everyone started peeling off to pit and I lost that draft,
that's whenever our fuel number tanked.
And yeah, it started to end our optimism started dwindling pretty quickly.
It was a strong effort nonetheless.
I do want to go back to Michigan for a moment now that you've had time to reflect.
I'm sure you've watched it back.
You've seen all the data and everything.
Just walk me through what that moment was like.
And it was obviously one of the hardest hits we've seen in the sport.
Yeah, it was, I don't know, something that I have tried to not relive too much.
You know, if I see a video on it, like it's on my screen right now,
I won't look at it, but it was, yeah, just a racing incident.
And I knew that it was going to be a big one.
Whenever I saw, well, actually Chase was inside of me and then I saw him wiggle
and I didn't, I thought I was just going to skirt around the outside of them.
And then whenever he came up, I think it kind of popped my nose in the air.
And yeah, then it was just, you know, hold on for dear life and probably held on
too good and got my wrist in the way.
And I know Chase had checked in on you throughout the course the last week
and so glad that you are okay.
That is behind you.
We're moving on to San Diego next.
There's been so much anticipation about this event and what this is going to be
like. What do you think the spectacle will be like going out there and racing
at the Naval base?
I think it's going to be awesome.
And everyone kind of compares it to the Chicago street course, which it is a
street course and some and it is a street course period.
But the difference is it's going to be way wider than what we had at Chicago.
So Chicago ended up being a really raceable track.
And I think that this is going to be even, even better.
So and plus the scenery around it is going to be absolutely immaculate.
And I think the whole industry is very excited about going to a new market.
Racing in San Diego is going to be one of one to remember.
That's for sure.
Yeah.
Did you ever think you'd be racing at a Naval base?
I mean, we've done some unique things, but this is definitely sets the bar.
Yeah.
Never in a million years.
I think this is going to happen, but I just, I'm excited.
I'm excited about it.
I think going to new markets is so important in our sport.
So, you know, the Chicago street course was kind of eye opening to show that we
can do this and, and, you know, San Diego is a place that it seems like
they're super excited about NASCAR.
Whenever we went out there and did the filming a couple months ago, everyone
embraced us, the community embraced us.
So I think we're going to put on a really good show.
I think so too.
You mentioned the importance of NASCAR trying new things.
Do you welcome those challenges when they kind of present something totally
different to you as a competitor?
I do.
I enjoy it.
I really like going to new tracks, you know, the, uh, what was it?
The Coliseum and LA that was a fun to do and everybody, whenever everyone's
learning together, it really is a test to see who can, who can master it.
The quickest and, um, my results haven't really shown well at going to new
race tracks, but believe it or not, I feel like I do really well going to new
places.
So whether that was, you know, road America, whenever we first went
there with the cup cars or the Indianapolis road course or, um, the Coliseum,
Bowman Gray, uh, it's been a ton of fun to be in this sport and, and getting
to experience these new, new races and, and style of, of, you know, schedules
that we've been having.
Now that you've been able to get an idea of what the track is, you've obviously
probably seen all the renderings on iracing and things like that.
What do you think of it?
Like how, how challenging is this going to be?
So I, I was really excited whenever I had the opportunity to go out to San Diego
and do the filming and we got to kind of ride around the track.
Um, and it was interesting that like turn one, turn two, turn three, turn
four, which is all, um, that the streets, right?
Though I drove on those streets whenever I was in San Diego.
So I was able to memorize and learn that part of the track really quickly.
Uh, but the track, the part of the track where you turn off into the
concrete, into the open area in the Navy base, that was the hardest
part for me to learn because I didn't, I hadn't been there or I hadn't
driven it in real life.
So, um, yeah, it's going to be interesting to see how well the sim lines
up to reality and in all of the images and the world in the, the simulator
that we see how, how that's going to line up to real life.
So, uh, it's going to be, I think it's going to be a lot of fun regardless,
but it'll be interesting to see who's, who simulator captures it the best.
It's going to be spectacular to see for sure.
We do have those two road courses in a row.
You have the injury, I know, and a relief driver.
If you need it, do you think you will?
Like how are you planning to manage these two road courses?
Yeah, it's just going to be a touch and go deal.
You know, I'll, I'll get a much better feel for what's going to transpire
after the Friday practice session.
Uh, I think everybody is well aware that San Diego is going to be much
harder than what it was at Pocono.
Um, and the last thing that I want to do is go out there and tweak my
wrist and, and, you know, set myself back to where it's, you know, a
couple more weeks later that I'm at a hundred percent.
So, um, you know, we'll see what happens and see how I feel through practice
and qualifying.
Uh, and, and regardless, I'm going to be in the car at the start of the race
and, uh, who knows?
Maybe I'll get out front and I'll say I can, I can do this.
Well, I hope that it goes smoothly for you.
And I want to ask about your acting skills and whether or not you have
an Oscar worthy performance there and NASCAR versus the Navy.
How was that?
Yeah, I, I, I very much embraced my role of being whatever it was,
kind of the lesser role.
Um, I, I love driving race cars.
I'm not an actor.
I love driving race cars.
So it was fun to be a part of it, but, uh, acting's not my day job and
I will, I will not blame that one.
Uh, well, still a cool experience nonetheless.
Um, so big picture kind of of the team right now.
I know you obviously have a unique variable that happened at Michigan,
but what do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of the 20 right now?
Yeah.
I mean, I, I really can't think of many weaknesses that we have.
It's been, uh, man, we've been doing so well and putting ourselves in position
to win, um, and, and really felt like it was, it was rolling our way,
you know, between Charlotte and Nashville.
Uh, those were two great races that we were able to get good finishes out of.
And then Michigan was, uh, you know, it was looking like we were going to be
right there in the thick of it again before that crash.
So I was super, uh, yeah, super optimistic about where we're at.
And, and hopefully once I can, once I overcome this setback,
we'll be able to pick it back up.
Joe Gibbs racing as a whole is very strong right now.
Your teammate, obviously Denny Hamlin, winning three in a row.
You've done that before yourself back in 2025.
What is that like for a driver when you just have that incredible momentum
and back to wins?
Yeah, it's, it's just so crazy how whenever it's going your way,
you feel like you can do no wrong.
And then there are other times where it feels like you can do no right.
So, um, Danny and the 11 group have been really fast.
The Toyotas are clearly on top of the pile on right now as far as speed
and overall car potential.
So, um, yeah, we, we haven't been able to execute and get to victory lane yet,
but the 11 has and they're making the most out of these fast Toyotas that we have.
So we've talked a bit about the season as a whole, obviously what occurred at
Michigan.
I want to bring up your wife for a moment, Morgan, because she's been in
your life a long time.
She comes from a racing family.
What is the support of her been like for you, especially in tough moments
like you endured just a few weeks ago?
Yeah, she, uh, she definitely rides this roller coaster with me and, and
she's, you know, in at every step of the way.
I think, uh, she probably takes the highs and lows a little bit worse than
what I do.
And she was, you know, super bummed about Michigan and, and, you know,
having the injury, but she's been, uh, you know, been my rock and she's the
one who's taping my cast up whenever I get in the shower now.
So I'm super thankful that I have her with me and, uh, I can't wait.
So we get to see more, you know, images like that.
I'm victory laying together.
Yeah.
She's one of the coolest wives in the garage.
I can attest to that.
Um, and watching the broadcast throughout the course of the season, I love
the advertisement that shows you as a kid for mobile.
And there's a voice in the background saying Christopher David Bell.
Who is that?
Is that like, who was that in your family saying that?
Yeah.
So, uh, that is, I call her my aunt.
Kaki.
Um, she's actually not my aunt.
She was my mom's best friend whenever we were growing up.
Um, so my parents were not into racing at all.
Like my guy grew up in Oklahoma, love football, basketball.
My dad was a basketball coach.
Um, no motor sport ties at all except for my parents friends, which
was Aunt Kaki and Uncle Will.
So, um, I was out at Uncle Will and Aunt Kaki's house and they're like,
Hey, come drive this, this go car right here.
And so, uh, yeah, it was, um, I'm thankful for them and they, they're
the ones who got me into motor sports and got me into racing and Uncle
Will and Aunt Kaki certainly had a huge part in my, my, uh, well, they're
the reasons why I'm, I'm race car driver Christopher Bell now.
I love that.
And they have to be so proud of you.
And they started this whole thing.
What was it about racing?
You think so that like spoke to you at such a young age, like what was that
feeling of like, Oh, I like this.
I think I want to keep doing this.
Yeah.
I mean, honestly, what I, what I love the most about it was whenever
you were on track, it was you, it was you against 20 other competitors
and, and growing up, you know, my dad was a basketball coach.
I mentioned that and you, you had a team around you and racing is no
different.
You have a team, but once you're on the track, it is in your hands to go
out there and beat your competitors.
And I love the thrill of competition.
I love the adrenaline and the thrill of driving race cars.
And, and I still do.
I just, I love driving race cars and I love competing against everyone
else, man versus man.
We're looking at footage of you, of course, winning at the chilly
bull, I believe here in the dirt racing community.
That's kind of how you came along.
It's a very unique skill set.
I might add being a dirt racer.
How proud are you to represent that community of racers?
I, I mean, I certainly am very proud of where I came from and I, what
I love about dirt track racing is how talented and, you know, great
all of those drivers are in that industry.
And, you know, one of the, I think dirt track racing really gives
drivers a great skill set to take to NASCAR because you're constantly
sliding the car around.
You get great car control from dirt track racing, but on top of
that, whenever I was a dirt track racer, like I was able to, to become
a professional racer on the dirt tracks before I even started asphalt racing.
So I think you learn much differently than, um, you know, some of
the asphalt side of like being a, a hobby racer and amateur and then
moving up to the NASCAR series.
Like I was a professional driver and professional racer much
before I entered into the NASCAR scene.
Yeah.
You were identified pretty quickly as a young phenom in that world.
When did you yourself realize that you had a special talent and you,
you realized that like you could actually make a job out of this?
Oh man, that's, uh, yeah, that's, that is, that goes back a long time.
But, you know, I, whenever I first started driving for my parents, um, we,
we didn't have the best equipment and, and it, it really wasn't until
I got my first hired, uh, opportunity in great cars that I was like, Hey,
I'm actually pretty good at this.
And the moment that I got out of my parents' equipment and into, um,
a level equipment, I was able to elevate myself and win.
And, and then it was kind of there that I realized that I was pretty good at
it and that was in my early teenage years.
So I didn't think that, um, I was really going to make a job out of it yet.
Uh, but then one thing turned to another and, and once I got hired for
that first time, I had success and then other people started hiring me.
Uh, and then whenever I first got that opportunity with Keith Koon's
Motorsports, that was kind of the turning point of like, you know,
I think I'm going to have an opportunity to make this my job.
And, and that was still all dirt track racing.
Like I never, uh, I was 20, 21 years old before I even drove a stock car.
So NASCAR didn't become on my horizon until I got into my twenties.
Wow.
Well, you have had an incredible career.
No question about that.
What is your family's reaction to everything you've achieved?
Uh, I think they're just, uh, you know, they're honestly, I think they're shocked.
You know, I don't think anybody saw it coming that, uh, a kid from Oklahoma
who didn't grow up with, you know, motorsports in their family history.
Um, I don't think any of them saw myself turning into a NASCAR cup series drivers.
So, uh, yeah, I mean, I'm, I, I think one of the, the biggest things
that helped me get to where I was today was I never had the goal of being a NASCAR driver.
I just had the goal of being a professional racer.
So I, you know, was content with where I was so early in life in my teenage years
that, um, it, it allowed me to exceed in that moment and not focus on moving ahead
and trying to, you know, put the cart before the horse.
Uh, and that's, you know, one thing that I try and tell young kids that are coming up
behind me is like, you have to succeed in the moment.
You can't, you know, for, you can't be looking so far ahead that you forget to win in the moment.
And if you win races, um, winners won't be ignored, but you have to focus on,
on your, your, your day to day and making sure that, you know, you don't focus too far out.
That's great insight to give to younger generation racers.
Do you think too, a path like yours, it makes you appreciate things more too.
You had to come up the difficult way.
Not that everybody doesn't have it hard in some senses, but your story is,
is not traditional, I would say.
Yeah, it's, it is.
It's so interesting hearing that, Caitlin, because I, I recently just did a piece
with Chase Briscoe and I grew up alongside of Chase Briscoe.
Uh, we're the exact same age.
We had very similar upbringings.
Um, but my path ended up being much, much easier than what Chase's path did.
Uh, because of, you know, the opportunities that I got and the lack of opportunities
that he got.
So, um, we both ended up side by side in the NASCAR Cup series for Joe Gibbs racing,
but, uh, everybody has their own story and, and I'm so grateful for the opportunities
that I had that, you know, gave me a level of equipment from Kyle Bush Motorsports
to Keith Coons Motorsports to, um, you know, Darren Rustin and his family back
in Oklahoma, um, it's, it's truly been a, a blessing to drive, you know, such
great race cars.
You mentioned Kyle Bush Motorsports.
And of course I wanted to ask you about this, um, after his passing, you want
to title for him in the craftsman truck series back in 2017.
Why was Kyle so special to you?
Yeah, there, there really was not a single individual that had a bigger impact
on my NASCAR career than Kyle did.
And, you know, going back to my early roots as a pavement driver, it was all
done under, under Kyle's Kyle Bush Motorsports banner.
Um, so whenever I first went stock car racing, we did some late model stocks
through KBM and then we did a couple of arca races and, uh, then into the super
late models and into the truck series.
And it was, it was because of Kyle that I ended up where I, where I am today.
So, you know, forever grateful for my time alongside of him and his mentorship
that he had towards me, uh, and, and helping, you know, make me into the racer
that I am today.
That moment we're looking at right there.
How validating was that for you?
Just giving everything you've talked about in the background and being able
to come over and crossover to NASCAR, something you didn't necessarily
anticipate and win a title.
Yeah, it, you know, that 2017 season was really, it was the maker break year
for me and I first went to KBM in 2015 in the truck series.
Um, and I ran a couple part time races and was fortunate enough to win
the dirt race at Eldora, uh, and showed promise throughout my, my asphalt starts.
I think I had, I don't know, five or six of them through 2015 and that led
me into the full time season in 2016.
Well, in 2016, I ended up paired up, uh, or teammate with William Byron
and William was with Rudy, um, and, and William and Rudy, you know,
they, they set the bar.
They won a ton of races.
They should have won the championship if it wasn't for a parts failure
that year, uh, and William really kicked my butt in 2016 and, and, you know,
my team just really couldn't, couldn't get going.
We couldn't jive.
We weren't getting the results and, and William was really, you know,
smoking us and it, it, it was a maker break year in 2017.
So I remember sitting down with Kyle in the off season, uh, between 16 and 17
of saying, Hey, you have to pair me with Rudy and, and give me that same
opportunity and I'm either going to sink or swim.
And I remember coming off of 2016.
I, uh, was really, I didn't think that I could do it and, and I was down
to myself and then once I got paired with Rudy in 2017, the success
came and that led to that, uh, you know, multiple, multiple win season
in the championship.
And, um, so yeah, it was, uh, 17 was my mulligan year.
I like to call it.
Uh, we're talking about your time in the truck series and obviously
Kyle Bush being instrumental to you.
Another person who is now is coach Gibbs.
Obviously one of the most prominent figures in sports for everything
that he has achieved.
What is some of the lessons and things you've kind of learned
from coach over the years?
Yeah, Joe has, he's just done such a great job of putting the right
people in place to, you know, be the powerhouse organization that they
are.
And, and he, he is just, uh, he's the best leader I've ever been around
and fortunate enough to, fortunate enough to drive for, um, he, uh,
you know, him and Kyle, while they, they could be so polar opposite
in some ways, they are so similar in other ways in the fact that
they demand greatness from everybody that they come across.
And that's what creates the, the, the, the teams that they both had
and in the success that they both had.
You have to have good people around you in order to succeed.
I want to touch too on your crew chief, Adam Stevens, one of the
smartest crew chiefs on top of the box in the cup series garage.
Um, what kind of asset do you feel like he's been to you?
Yeah, it's been, you know, really a, a really good pairing for me
because, uh, whenever I first joined with him in 2021, obviously I was
new to the series.
I was young, or he was just coming off of, uh, multiple championships
with Kyle Bush.
So he had plenty of experience.
Uh, and I think it's always a natural fit to pair young drivers
with experienced crew chiefs, uh, that, that are able to kind of
lead the, lead the road.
So, um, yeah, I, I'm very fortunate to have the team that I do.
All of my mechanics and engineers, um, and certainly Adam are, are next
level and, and, and the best in the garage.
Yeah.
Your road crew has a lot of depth, really solid mechanics on there.
And I think about the pit crew too has been so strong this season.
Yes.
The pit crew.
Yeah, for a driver knowing and having confidence in your crew,
they're not going to make mistakes and, um, that you can just know
the rise of the occasion.
Man, you, you have to have a good pit crew in order to have success at
this level and, and my pit crew is absolutely amazing.
It's been so fun to get to bond with them over the years and see,
you know, whenever they first came onto my car, they, they, it took
some time to get acclimated to, you know, my tendencies of stopping
in the box, how I handle the car throughout the pit stop, accelerating
out of the box, what the jack drop feels like.
And, and now our pit road is, is as good as it gets.
So, um, yeah, it's, it's, it's an honor to drive for such talented individuals.
Well, it's also an honor to watch you and you do your craft.
You've had such a great career.
We're thinking about you and hoping you have a good recovery and we're
wishing you, of course, the best of luck as well in San Diego this
weekend.
Christopher Bell, thank you so much.
And again, best of luck to you this weekend.
Thank you.
About this episode
Christopher Bell talks about racing through a wrist fracture at Pocono, how drafting helped his pace early, and why a late fuel gamble didn’t work out when the car ran out of fuel. He also reflects on a brutal Michigan crash and the support he gets at home during recovery. Off track, Bell and the hosts look ahead to the San Diego street race at a Naval base, comparing it to Chicago and discussing how sim work like iRacing helps drivers learn unfamiliar layouts.
Christopher Bell walked away from a terrifying 63-G impact at Michigan—the hardest recorded crash of NASCAR’s Next Gen era—with a fractured left wrist. Just days later, he was back in the simulator and cleared to race. We sat down with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver to find out exactly how he is driving a Cup car basically one-handed, what went through his mind during the wreck, and he plans to navigate the next two weeks at San Diego and Sonoma.
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