What a season Christopher Bell is having. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has already won three Cup Series races in a row, and now has the All-Star Race win under his belt. Six top-five finishes in his opening 12 races highlight the Oklahoman’s dominance, and if his early-season form is anything to go by, a maiden Cup title may be on the cards at Phoenix Raceway later this year. However, despite his many triumphs, the 30-year-old is also struggling behind the scenes with a certain aspect of his race craft.

Could the No. 20 driver overcome his ‘kryptonite’ to finally end Team Penske’s dominance at NASCAR’s highest level? Time will tell. However, one thing is for sure: Christopher Bell is looking like a force to be reckoned with this season.

Christopher Bell sees room for improvement

When the 2025 season began, Christopher Bell had a major point to prove. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had narrowly missed out on a Championship 4 spot last year after his ‘wall-riding’ incident at Martinsville Speedway during the playoffs. What followed was an eventful off-season on dirt tracks, and the Oklahoman used that momentum to hit the ground running when the Cup Series was back underway. The credit isn’t just down to him, but the No. 20 crew as well, who have tuned his car perfectly for triumphs in Atlanta, Circuit of the Americas, Phoenix Raceway, and now North Wilkesboro.

However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. Sharing his thoughts on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast, Christopher Bell said, “Looking at the races we’ve run so far, every time we have the intermediate package on, we haven’t had the pace to lead laps, contend for stage wins, and contend for race wins. We’ve gotten really fortunate to catch lucky-timed yellows, have good restarts, and have been able to squeak out a couple of top-10s and a couple of top-5s with the intermediate package, but ultimately, we haven’t been where we need to be to contend for race wins.”

Bell has observed that all his triumphs this season have come on the ‘low downforce package’, which was also used at North Wilkesboro Speedway during the All-Star Race. However, the No. 20 team can’t be one-dimensional when aiming for the Bill France Cup at Phoenix Raceway this year, which means working on their intermediate package as a priority will be key now that a playoff spot is assured. His performance on intermediate tracks has left a lot on the table, leading just 3 laps at intermediate tracks this season. They have been able to finish strong, with 3/5 top-10 finishes, but they have been down to late restarts and pit strategy, while the speed simply isn’t there.

It’s a sentiment that was echoed by the Oklahoman as well, who said, “Going to Charlotte, I think we still need to take another step forward in the intermediate package.” The stakes will be high at the Coca-Cola 600, a race Christopher Bell won last year. Could he go on to defend his win at the crown jewel event? Time will tell. The 30-year-old may have struggled on intermediate tracks so far, but now that he has regained momentum, the racer could easily turn his fortunes around.

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Bell has no regrets for driving aggressively against Logano

Christopher Bell’s strategy made all the difference at North Wilkesboro. When the promoter’s caution was waved on Lap 216, the No. 20 Toyota went into the pits and got two tires replaced. After that, the racer drove like a man on a mission, steadily gaining track positions until he caught up with race leader Joey Logano with just 12 laps to go. What followed was a heated duel between the two drivers before the 30-year-old finally made the pass with just nine laps remaining after sliding Logano up the track in a move that did not please the reigning champion. Logano said after the race, “He [Christopher Bell] got under me and released the brake and gave me no option. Kind of just ran me up into the wall, and if I could’ve got to him, he was going around after a move like that.”

In the post-race interview, Bell couldn’t contain his surprise, and he said, “Joey was frustrated? He was frustrated? That is interesting. I genuinely would not have guessed that. I had gotten to him a couple of times before, and he made it very difficult on me as he should. And I got my run, and I took the moment as I should. And I don’t think that I did anything that Joey has not done. And I’ve seen Joey do much worse. So we will continue on.” It’s no secret that Joey has done much worse, from wrecking Matt Kenseth in the 2015 playoffs to bumping Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and causing a wreck at the Daytona 500 this year, Logano has proven multiple times that his drive to win can go a bit too far, and Bell will not take any slander from him.

Christopher Bell is refusing to back down, even in front of the reigning NASCAR champ. And it’s that attitude that could potentially take him all the way this season. While a lot can happen between now and the Championship 4 race in Phoenix, the racer has the experience and maturity to not get carried away this time around. After finishing 3rd, 4th, and 5th in each of his last three seasons, could he finally go on and clinch the elusive trophy this time around? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!