Joe Gibbs labels Christopher Bell’s win “a huge deal” as he acknowledged JGR was “holding him back” this season
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Joe Gibbs and Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell, the No:20 Toyota Camry driver of Joe Gibbs Racing has turned around his season as he was able to get his second career win in Cup series by winning the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last Sunday. Bell was able to convert the unbeaten run he has on the track in his Truck and Xfinity outing of the past to his second cup win ahead of championship leader Chase Elliott who finished P2.
With JGR having a bad reputation for handling their youngsters it’s important for Bell to stand his ground and demand more from his team if he wants to position himself as a championship contender in the future. It’s fair to say Bell hasn’t yet received the treatment which equals what is given to his veteran teammates and JGR’s decision to swap some of his crew with their sister-team driver Bubba Wallace’s crew did raise some eyebrows but the decision seemed to be the lucky one for him.
Find out what Joe Gibbs had to say about Christopher Bell’s win
Joe Gibbs talking about the youngster’s win acknowledged that the win has so many stories to tell as the driver and the crew had a special day. He pointed out that alongside Christopher Bell, who he acknowledged to be held back a bit this year, the pit crew also consists of young members such as the likes of a third-generation member from the “Jackson” family joining them and winning the race with the team I only his third race.
“You know, with a young guy like that– there were so many stories out there today with that team. That was a young pit crew. It was our third generation Jackson was on there. It was only his third race there with those guys, so that was a great story. Then Christopher, we really in a lot of ways held him back during the year,” Joe Gibbs said.
Joe Gibbs went on to say that seeing someone as young as him winning the races for JGR shows a lot about him and his No:20 crew and went on to express his opinion on the good work done by him and the crew in ensuring the win for the team at the time of having such big sponsors as Rheem. He also pointed out the loyal efforts by individuals associated with Christopher Bell such as the likes of Stanley Black & Decker.
“There are things that happened when he could have won races. You love to see a young guy like that, he and Morgan, they fight through everything that they fought through, and then to win the race, huge for our sponsors, Rheem, a huge deal. So loyal to us. Stanley Black & Decker has been also with Christopher a bunch, and so for all those sponsors and everything, just a huge deal for us. So, there are a lot of stories. Seeing a young guy like that win a race today, I think really says a lot about him and his team,” Joe Gibbs added.
The Hall of Fame owner went on to speak about Adam Stevens, the No:20 Crew Chief as he has done so many grinding and efficient decisions to get the team to the victory lane. He pointed out that when Bell started the race e didn’t have the best car as it was just a mid-pack performing car but Adam Stevens and his team were able to turn the race around for bell and give him the shot at winning.
“Adam, too. I shouldn’t have left Adam out. He really does a great job of guiding things at our race shop and making decisions like that. That car was not very good when we started the race. That’s the other thing. That car was kind of middle of the pack and struggling. I think it says a lot about Adam and the team and everybody just kept fighting, and at the end they got him going in the right direction,” Joe Gibbs explained.
Also read: “Man, that one was much needed right there” Christopher Bell on winning the New Hampshire cup race
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Justin P Joy
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