“Buildup of Frustration!” Christopher Bell Breaks Silence on Drama Over His Profanity Laced Radio Rant at Gateway

Joe Gibbs Racing youngster Christopher Bell shared his thoughts on the criticism of his radio rant after P7 finish at Gateway.

“Buildup of Frustration!” Christopher Bell Breaks Silence on Drama Over His Profanity Laced Radio Rant at Gateway

Christopher Bell (Via @CBellRacing/X)

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Joe Gibbs Racing No:20 Toyota driver Christopher Bell started the 2025 Cup Season strong with three back-to-back wins, and consistently finishing inside the top-10. But as playoffs approached, he forms dropped, despite the fact that JGR was fielding better cars earning multiple wins for Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe.

The frustration over not matching his teammates pace has been building up for a long time for Christopher Bell and it boiled over after Gateway race last week, while his team was celebrating a P7 finish when the No:11 and No:19 cars finish 1st and 2nd. He went on a radio rant, something he isn’t known for, drawing attention from the racing community.

Ahead of the Bristol night race weekend, Bell addressed the drama and admitted that the rant came after his frustration boiled over due to lack of the results he expected from himself.  He pointed out that there are no excuses for him to not finish the race in the front raw, considering he had cars faster than or as faster as the race winner.

I think it was definitely a buildup of frustration and not performing up to our standards, and not getting the results that I think that we should get. Well — not even think; should. We should get better results, and we haven‘t been doing that. It was frustration.

Christopher Bell said via RACER.com.

Furthermore, he asserted that everyone in the No:20 Toyota team wants to win races, and that’s their common as well as personal goal.  Everyone in the team will get benefited if they win, just like in every other professional sport. But the frustration rises when they failed to do it despite getting multiple opportunities.  

We’re all on the same team. I want to win. Adam wants to win. All of my my team, we all have the same common goal. So, I don’t think anybody takes it personal because we all want the same thing. And if I win, it’s good for Adam. If Adam wins, it’s good for me. So I don’t know; it’s professional sports.

Christopher Bell added.

Christopher Bell crew chief gives his verdict on the pressure on the JGR racer

The Joe Gibbs Racing No:20 team crew chief Adam Stevens shared his thoughts on the rant and why his driver was frustrated. He pointed out that the lack of wins has been weighting on him, and with the extra pressure on his shoulders due to the playoffs made more disappointing than ever.

Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell (Via @LVMotorSpeedway/X)

It’s been a few weeks since we’ve won, and it just weighs you down. You know, little extra pressure of the playoffs, a little extenuating circumstances with not having a great finish at Darlington, even though we were quick.

Adam Stevens said.

Further talking about the point, he admitted that Bell is coming to the Bristol night race focussed on not just winning race, but also pointing his way into the R-12. He expects Bell to get over the frustration over the recent results.

And having to really be mindful of points coming into Bristol with the new tire — we just don’t know what kind of weekend it’s going to be here, right? So, I don’t think he had a full understanding of that in the heat of the moment, and frustrations come out. It’s a frustrating sport.

Adam Stevens added.

The comments from the No:20 TRD driver and the crew chief shows they are under massive pressure in the playoffs owing to winless run. It would be interesting to see how everything is going to playout for the veteran racer in the coming race weeks.

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