Kevin Harvick claims Christopher Bell is ready to become the leader at JGR if Denny Hamlin retires

Christopher Bell was the one to open the account for JGR and Toyota in 2024 with Phoenix race win.

Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick (In Circle) and Denny Hamlin (Via IMAGO)

43-year-old Denny Hamlin has proved himself again and again over the years and is undoubtedly the leading driver at Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin is still in his prime and is giving his young rivals a run for their money consistently. But it wont be long before the No:11 Camry driver decide to retire as the age will soon catch up with him.

But JGR doesn’t have to worry about finding a capable racer who can lead the team like Denny Hamlin according to 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick. The retired SHR driver pointed out that JGR has the best Hamlin replacement in Chritopher Bell. The No:20 Camry has been the most consistent driver in the Next-Gen era and Harvick sees a lot of leadership qualities in him.

If Denny Hamlin came and said, ‘Hey, I’m gonna retire today,’ I think that he could step right in there and be the leader of Joe Gibbs Racing, and I think that they’re neck and neck from a performance standpoint. The No. 11 and No. 20

Kevin Harvick said the Happy Hours podcast.

The words from Kevin Harvick showcases his trust in Christopher Bell and how he thinks he can be the lead driver of the team in the future. Bell has proved himself many times in the Next-Gen era. He is the only Toyota driver to make it to Championship-4 since they start racing the 7th gen car and the only driver to make in to final-4 in in last two season back-to-back in the whole Cup garage.

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Kevin Harvick’s thoughts on Christopher Bell’s personality

Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin are the very opposite of each other in terms of personality. Bell is more of a calm and collected personality who does his talking on the track, whereas Hamlin is loud and does his talking both on and off the track. During the podcast, the ex-NASCAR CUP champion also spoke about what he thinks regarding Bell’s personality and how it is widely different from lead driver Hamlin’s.

Kevin Harvick and Christopher Bell (Via IMAGO)

I do think that Christopher Bell has the capability to not say anything, and win enough races, to make you talk about him all the time...It doesn’t matter if he is exciting or not exciting off the racetrack, because they have the capability to be that exciting week in and week out.

Kevin Harvick said.

Kevin Harvick emphasized on the fact that Christopher Bell is a brilliant driver and how his racing is all that should matter. He would be an ideal leader for JGR regarding media duties, as he won’t give them any PR headaches like Hamlin does often. But, if he doesn’t perform at the top-level every week, he often goes un-noticed and that isn’t good in a marketing perspective. Buit it’s not a hard piece puzzle to solve for JGR as well.