“Underperforming!” Kyle Petty Calls Out Christopher Bell After Heartbreaking Iowa P2

The NASCAR Cup Series race on Iowa Speedway last Sunday marked the seventh race this season Christopher Bell finished P2. He missed out on the win, as his teammate Ty Gibbs produced a strong mistake-less defensives run in the last laps despite the fact that the No:20 Toyota Camry with four fresh tires was clearly faster.

Ex-racer Kyle Petty was clearly disappointed with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver continuing to fail on the final stretch, and shared his frustration on the latest episode of the Inside the Race show. He asserted that the loses against the like of Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez are the product of the TRD driver underperforming when it mattered the most.

When’s he going to pass a leader? That’s my point. When is he going to?  He runs them down. We’ve seen him run them down in multiple races. Bell underperforming. He’s gotten beaten by Blaney twice, Suarez once, and Heim once.

Kyle Petty said about Bell.

One key mistake the JGR driver has made consistently in the same situation this season was making the same move again and again hoping for results, instead looking to do something creative. But at same time Kyle Petty is missing the fact Iowa Speedway made to too hard to pass with limited tire fall off and that played a key role in Christopher Bell getting stuck at P2.

If you go to the well and it’s dry… DON’T go back to that same move!

Christopher Bell continues to struggle to pull away at the end of races, which is why he’s finished runner up 7 times!

Stay tuned for a new Inside the Race, dropping later today! pic.twitter.com/jTHH2N7QEx

— Kyle Petty (@kylepetty) August 10, 2026

He makes a move with 15, 20 laps to go. And even you guys in the booth said he’s going to have one more shot. He duplicated the shot he had before. If you go to the well and it’s dry, don’t go back to that same move. It’s not going to work, man.

Kyle Petty added via Inside the Race.

On his post-race interview, the veteran racer hinted that his crew chief Adam Steven’s making a bad call by pitting for four tires instead of staying out or pitting for just two tires like winner Ty Gibbs. This didn’t sit well with Petty, and he called out the driver for failing his boss by not delivering win despite him putting him positions to do so.

I hate to say that because I think he’s an incredible race car driver. But how many times can Adam put him in a place to win races and you leave the win on the table?

Kyle Petty asserted.

Christopher Bell’s crew chief insist he made the right pit call at the end

On his post-race interview, Adam Stevens doubled down on his pit-call and asserted that it wasn’t the lengthy stop that cost them the race win. He admitted that it was 50-50 call, expecting the race will see more caution towards the end, but unfortunately it didn’t happen as lady luck backed Gibbs’s team who took the bigger risk.

Sure, it was a thought, but it wasn’t the decision I made. It was probably a 50-50 call, especially not expecting it to go fully green. I can’t say that was the wrong call to do that, but it’s not the one I made, and it didn’t work out for me.

Adam Stevens said post-race.

The comments from Petty and Steven hints at the fact that Bell needs to get back to performing on a higher level to be in the championship conversation like his teammates. It would be interesting to see how the last three races of the regular season are going to playout for the No:20 driver and if he wins a race before the chase starts.

Also Read: “Dirty Mo Up to Their Old Tricks!” NASCAR Breaks Silence on Denny Hamlin’s Bold Accusation Over Iowa Brake Drama