Christopher Bell dominates at Phoenix. Will it be the ‘first of many’ this NASCAR season?
Not even the second-place finisher could see Christopher Bell at the end of his NASCAR Cup Series win.
Chris Buescher had surged late toward the front of the pack on Sunday, snatching the second position from Ty Gibbs. But once Buescher passed Gibbs, he said he couldn’t even put his eyes on the race’s leader.
Bell, the 29-year-old driver who won a recent Charlotte Roval, showed incredible speed throughout the race and pulled away from the field by the end. One of last year’s finalists in the Championship 4, Bell led the Cup Series with six poles, three of which came in the playoffs.
He almost certainly will secure a spot in this year’s Cup Series playoffs, which culminate with the championship race back at Phoenix’s mile-long track on Nov. 10.
“Man, this one feels really good,” Bell said afterward. “Adam (Stevens), my engineers, my crew chief, all the mechanics on this thing. You don’t get cars like that very often, as you know. Just super, super proud. Proud to be on this 20 car. This Rheem Camry was amazing today.
“I feel like we have capability of running races like this a lot. Hopefully, this is the first of many this year.”
When preparing for Phoenix, Bell’s team at Joe Gibbs Racing focused on their setup with the new short track package, and Bell was clear about how he wanted to run this race.
The gap between Bell and his competitors on Sunday was obvious.
“We were close in a way,” Buescher said. “But like we were just talking, I couldn’t even see the 20 (Bell). That was going to be a tough one to battle for a win.”
Buescher, who officially finished 37th at Las Vegas after hitting the wall, rebounded for his best run of the season. His RFK Racing teammate, Brad Keselowski, took fourth, and Ryan Blaney took fifth.
After Chevrolet drivers won the season’s first three races, Ross Chastain (sixth) was the only one to finish in the Top 10 on Sunday at Phoenix.
Toyotas dominated the race, with pole-sitter Denny Hamlin and Stage 1 winner Tyler Reddick arguably having the fastest cars outside Bell throughout the day.
“Everybody knows in our sport it just takes a lot of people and everybody working together,” said Gibbs, the team owner who is enshrined in the halls of fame of both Pro Football and NASCAR. “It does start with Toyota, all the support and help they give us.
“I’m just so pleased with the effort at the race shop, all of our guys. Everybody knows how important Phoenix is. So I think there was a great effort. There was a lot of ‘new’ to it, the new package and all that.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2024 at 6:30 AM with the headline "Christopher Bell dominates at Phoenix. Will it be the ‘first of many’ this NASCAR season?."
