Christopher Bell “under-performing” as teammates finish 1-2

It’s been an unusual year for Christopher Bell, who won three of the first four races this season. However, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota hasn’t been to Victory Lane in months — since March, to be exact.

What makes that fact more unusual is his team, JGR, has gone on to win five races with Denny Hamlin and two with Chase Briscoe, including the first two races of the 2025 playoffs.

And where is Bell in all this? Looking at the playoff picture, he’s just fine, sitting 32 points above the cut line. But that doesn’t mean he’s happy with the status quo, especially as his teammates keep collecting checkered flags.

“I just think we are under-performing,” said Bell after the race. “Clearly, the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) Camrys are amazing, and I don’t know. Our team cars are really good, and I felt like I had what I needed to race with them, and we finished seventh and they finished 1-2. I honestly think the cars are as fast as I’ve had in my Cup career, and we are just not getting results out of it.”

Bell finished 29th in the Southern 500 one week ago, suffering damage on pit road in a situation that was outside of his control. At Gateway, he finished seventh in a solid showing, but it’s hard to be overly thrilled when JGR scores a 1-2 that doesn’t involve you.

“We just ran f****** ran seventh with the best car on the track,” radioed Bell after crossing the finish line. He expressed frustration with the strategy and how he ended up on the wrong end of the pit cycle. “We’re the last car to pit road. I’m over it.”

He made his final stop with just under 40 laps to go while running second, and after a caution that broke up the critical pit cycle, he was scored fifth in the order ahead of the final restart. 

At the end of the day, Hamlin won the race after leading 75 laps. Briscoe placed a strong second with 15 laps led, while Bell never took a turn out front and remained stuck in the middle of the top ten runners.

“That is a bummer, but on a lighter note – we had a good points day and were able to increase our buffer to the cutline, which is really good,” continued Bell in hist post-race comments, trying to focus on the positives. “I think from that standpoint mission accomplished. We had a great Camry, just didn’t get the finish that we probably could’ve and should’ve.”

It’s a strange spot for Bell to be in, as he has asserted himself as a leader within JGR in recent seasons, with three consecutive years where he was the team’s top-finishing driver in points.

While he has no reason to worry at the moment, the frustration will continue to rise for the No. 20 if he can’t find his way back to Victory Lane, which is usually key to any deep playoff run.