● Outrageously Dependable for 33 Years and Counting: Interstate Batteries has 11 primary sponsorships on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule in 2024, a similar number of schemes to last year’s expanded presence among all four Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Toyota Camry XSEs. Bell and Ty Gibbs have been slated for the majority of the Interstate Batteries races this season with eight primaries in all between the two drivers. Denny Hamlin piloted the Interstate Batteries machine for two races this season and Martin Truex Jr. once. After this weekend in Daytona, Bell will see Interstate return as co-primary sponsor on his No. 20 Camry in the season finale in November at Phoenix Raceway.
● Playoffs on the Horizon: Bell, the Oklahoma native, sits seventh in the driver standings with 703 points, 111 behind new leader Tyler Reddick. All four JGR entries are currently inside the top-10 in the standings with Hamlin fourth, Truex eighth and Gibbs 10th as the series heads to the penultimate race of the regular season this weekend at Daytona.
● Postseason Bound: Just two races remain in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season with Bell sitting second on the current playoff grid with three wins on the season. Bell has accumulated 25 total playoff points so far, which he can take to each round of the playoffs, a key factor in helping the No. 20 team reach its goal of making the Championship 4 for the fourth year in a row.
● Bell has nine career Cup Series starts on Daytona’s 2.5-mile oval. Of those eight starts, His best career points-paying finish came in the last two Daytona 500s in 2023 and earlier this year. With Bell currently sitting second on the playoff grid, he is looking to enter the playoffs as one of the favorites and build on the momentum of back-to-back appearances in the Championship 4 of the Cup Series Playoffs.
● Outside of the NASCAR Cup Series, Bell has made five career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Daytona. Bell has brought home two top-five finishes and four top-10s in those five Xfinity Series starts.
● End of Summer Battery Check: This part of the season is annually the hottest for Cup Series competitors with select race venues seeing warmer temperatures and families heading out on their late-summer road trips. Whether on the highway or the racetrack, the summer months can be taxing on both man and machine. Caring for the latter is one of the ways JGR founding partner Interstate Batteries leverages its NASCAR program, reminding consumers to have their batteries checked during the hot summer months at a local Interstate Batteries dealer prior to their summer road trips.
Christopher Bell, Driver of the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE
You now have two third-place finishes at Daytona the past two years. How do you approach the last laps of a race at Daytona?
“It’s unbelievable. Anyone that has not driven in a Cup Series superspeedway race, I don’t feel like they understand the difference between lap one, even lap 120 to lap 160. The light switch goes off and the intensity just skyrockets, and guys just start pushing and shoving where you are not supposed to be pushing and shoving. The thing I hate about superspeedway racing is you never feel like you are in control in those moments when you are getting pushed around. It changes dramatically in those last couple of laps. I thought maybe we were going to get Interstate Batteries another Daytona 500 win in February. Can’t thank everyone enough over there who supports us and would love to finally have the race play out in our favor and get them back to victory lane at Daytona.”
Do you have a spot that you want to be in those final laps?
“Ultimately, you don’t want another manufacturer behind you because you are going to be left out to dry, but even if it is a teammate, you are not going to just get pushed to the end. The best thing you can hope for in the end is to have a shot. Everyone asks the magic question – would you like to be leading or second going into the last lap? Well both of them are going to have a shot to win, so either one of them is not too bad. You just want to have an opportunity to take the checkered flag and you have to be in the top so many rows to be able to do that.”
What was the difference in getting a third-place finish at Daytona in February and some of the other races that you’ve run there over the years?
“I don’t know what to think of these speedway races. Adam Stevens, my crew chief, and I have a running joke, I say these races are 100 percent luck. I know that’s not true, but it seems like we’ve been struggling to get to the end of it. I know I’ve been a common denominator in a lot of the wrecks and, if you put yourself in a good spot and just be there to go for it on the final lap, anything can happen. Felt good that we were able to do that in February and hope we can do it again this weekend with our Interstate Batteries Camry and maybe not only be there at the end, but have a shot to win it this time.”
How much of a help has it been in superspeedway racing to have a few more Toyotas since Legacy Motor Club joined Toyota at the start of the 2023 season?
“I think it is always positive to have more cars at speedway races. I think all of us Toyotas are going to do the best we can to help each other, but having two more cars in these races is definitely helpful for us as a whole.”
● Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 25 of 36)
● Time/Date: 7:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, August 24
● Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway
● Layout: 2.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 160 laps/400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 35 laps / Stage 2: 60 laps / Final Stage: 65 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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