Pit Stop Radio News

No. 20 MAC Tools Toyota Camry TRD News and Notes:

• BELL AT RICHMOND RACEWAY:  Christopher Bell will make his seventh NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) start at Richmond Raceway (RR) this weekend. In his previous six starts at the 0.75-mile track, Bell has earned four top-five and five top-10 finishes.
• RICHMOND SPRING 2023: Bell started 21^st at Richmond after practice and qualifying were rained out. Bell raced his way up to eighth to close out stage one while searching for lateral grip. He took the lead for a few laps towards the end of stage two before falling to second behind fresher tires. Bell continued to have a fast car through the final stage but came up a few positions short at the checkered flag, finishing fourth at Richmond.
• RICHMOND XFINITY SUCCESS: In five NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at RR, Bell has three wins, three top-five and four top-10 finishes. In addition, Bell has one pole position and has led a total of 457 laps. 
• POCONO RECAP: Bell qualified fifth at Pocono Raceway last weekend. He battled a loose car throughout Stage 1 and pitted just before the stage ended for a routine pit stop with a few adjustments. Bell felt more comfortable with the car throughout Stage 2. On lap 92, just before the end of the stage, the No. 20 spun off of turn 1. The damage was minimal and the 20 team was able to make minor repairs, change the flat tire, and get the car back out on the track. Bell made an impressive comeback after starting in the back of field due to the spin and earned a sixth-place finish. 
• JGR AT RICHMOND: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has claimed 18 NCS victories at Richmond. In 159 combined starts at the .526-mile oval, the organization has tallied 58 top-five finishes, 95 top-10s and 6,072 laps led. The championship-winning organization has won nine pole awards with an average start of 13.3 an average finish of 11.5.
• RACE INFO: The Cook Out 400 at RR begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 30, 2023. The race will be broadcast live on USA, Sirius XM 90, and MRN Radio.

From the Cockpit:

Christopher Bell: “The new downforce package we’ve been running since the start of the year seems to benefit the cars that are looser, you need to be able to carry corner speed, you cannot be tight and slow your mid-corner down, you’ve got to be able to roll the corner and be really free but you have to have forward drive and that’s kind of a trade off from short runs to long runs at Richmond. With as fast as our cars have been recently, I expect Richmond to be a great race for the JGR group.”

Bell’s Career NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Richmond Raceway:

Bell’s 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:

Bell’s Career NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:

Joe Gibbs Racing PR