Christopher Bell – No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry XSE Preview – Circuit of the Americas

LAT Images #20: Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, DEWALT Toyota Camry

No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry XSE News and Notes:

  • CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS: The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) heads to Austin, TX for Circuit of the Americas (COTA), 3.426-mile road course made up of 20 turns. Bell has three prior starts at COTA, his best finish of third came in 2022.
  • BELL AT COTA: The NCS series first visited COTA in 2021 and raced in the rain. Bell qualified his No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE 10th but was collected in an accident in stage two, ending his race early. In 2022, Bell qualified seventh and had a fast car until the power steering went out. The team spent some time under the hood two different times adding fluid and assessing the issue. They were able to fix the power steering and capitalize on being in position for the lucky dog to rebound for a third-place finish. In 2023, Bell qualified 14th and ran inside the top-10 most of the day until multiple late cautions extended the race. Bell took a gamble with pit strategy and fuel mileage but ultimately had to pit for tires and fuel. On the final NASCAR overtime restart Bell suffered damage and had to take his No. 20 to the garage, two laps shy of the finish, resulting in a 31st-place finish.
  • DEWALT HOOD: DEWALT will feature Keystone Concrete Placement on the lower hood of the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE this weekend at COTA. For more information about Keystone, visit https://www.keystoneconcrete.com/
  • DEWALT DECKLID: DEWALT will feature Builders First Source on the decklid this weekend. For more information visithttps://www.bldr.com/
  • BRISTOL RECAP: Bell started 12th and finished stage one 10th while trying to manage tire wear. Over stage two he reported the balance of his No. 20 was pretty good and he was able to finish stage two fifth. Bell’s pit crew knocked out a fast stop at the stage break, gaining him a position to start the final stage fourth. Tire management was the key to Bristol Sunday and Bell was managing his until a flat with 60 to go sent him down pit road under green. The race went green until the end and Bell was able to rebound to cross the finish line 10th while others battled tire issues as well.
  • JOE GIBBS RACING AT COTA: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has 12 combined starts at COTA, with 19 total laps led, one top-five and four top-10 finishes. JGR has an average starting position of 14.5 and an average finish of 18.8 at the road course.  
  • RACE INFO: The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 24, 2024. The race will be broadcast live on FOX, Sirius XM 90, and PRN Radio.

From the Cockpit:

Christopher Bell: “I love the racetrack at COTA, but it hasn’t really been good to me yet, so it’s not one that I have circled. I enjoy road course racing and it’s always a challenge going there because it’s such a long racetrack, the lap times are really long and there are a lot of areas that are really important. A lot of corners to make up lap time, it’s unique and a place that I need a good run at this weekend.”

Bell NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Circuit of the Americas:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
30110110.324.0

Bell 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
5123010112.216.2

Bell NASCAR Cup Series Career Stats:

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
1497336510139113.715.7

JGR PR

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