Christopher Bell Got His “Butts Kicked” by Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Christopher Bell has shared his thoughts on Shane van Gisbergen humbling him at Watkins Glen.

Christopher Bell Got His “Butts Kicked” by Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen

Christopher Bell and Shane van Gisbergen (Via IMAGO and @shanevg97/X)

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When Team Penske Racing’s Ryan Blaney won the pole for the Go Bowling at The Glen, many expected this weekend to be the race that will end Shane van Gisbergen’s road course dominance. But on the contrary, it gave the Kiwi extra motivation to humble the rest of the garage, including Christopher Bell, the only driver other than SVG to win a road course event this season.

Shane van Gisbergen won the race, with a massive 11+ seconds leads, redeeming himself from the poor outing he had at the same track, driving the Project 91 car. It also helped him to get over the Xfinity Series race loss to Conor Zilisch, where he got wrecked. Christopher Bell on the other hand is upset over how everything played out.

On his post-race interview, after he secured P2 over Chris Buscher, the driver he was actually fighting in the day as a duel with SVG wasn’t even on the cards, Bell shared duality of his feelings. On one side he fells excited about having a solid race in some time and finally founding some rhythm to his race finishes, which he desperately has been searching for.

Happy, yeah. I’m thrilled. We’ve been struggling a little bit to find a rhythm. I feel like the car has been good, but executing the races has been tough for us. Really awesome to have a good day.

Christopher Bell said via Motorsports.com.

At the same time, he is frustrated with the massive lead Shane van Gisbergen had on his path to victory humbling him and his compatriots. Regardless, he is happy that his team gave him a competitive car, executed better and secure a good finish, that has given them the momentum much required to perform better in the playoff that is two races away.  

Frustrated to get our butts kicked by the 88 car [SVG]. He’s doing a really good job. That team has it going on. We need to find a little bit more, but certainly happy. It was a good day for Camry.

Christopher Bell added.

Christopher Bell explained challenges during his run to secure P2

It was not easy for Bell to secure the P2, with Buescher producing a solid run with the No:17 Ford Mustang. One of the significant challenges was dirty air, which makes racing pretty bad in the road courses. It’s hard to keep up with the leading cars once the following vehicle comes two car lengths back, as the hot air cause reduction in grip.

Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell (Via IMAGO)

I wanted to get to [Buescher] for sure. Dirty air… dirty air is so bad. You can close the gap and once you get to two car lengths back, you can just feel the hot air – even the air that is going through your helmet. It gets hot, the brakes get hot, you lose grip and you stall out.

Christopher Bell said.

Further talking about the point, he admitted that having no cautions at the end, unlike the normal Watkins Glen races, which gave him the opportunity close the gap on Buescher. He admitted that it took him more time than he expected to overtake his RFK Racing driver, which might have caused the huge gap between the winner and runner up.

I was moving pretty good so I was content with no yellows and just letting it run green. Thankfully, I had enough pace so I could break through that bubble and get by him. It took a little bit longer than I wanted to.

Christopher Bell added.

The comments from the Joe Gibbs Racing driver shows how dominant the No:88 Chevy team has been so far in the 2025 season on the road courses. It would be interesting to see how everything is going to playout for the star driver in the last non-oval race of the season, which will be in the playoffs, with SVG going to be the biggest challenge to overcome.

Also Read: (Video) Austin Hill Dumps Michael McDowell and Causes a 16-Car Wreck at Watkins Glen