“It’s f—- coming.” Once, Kyle Busch had threatened to wreck Christopher Bell. During the 2024 Circuit of the Americas race, Bell spun out his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate around lap 42. That resulted in an unpleasant confrontation post-race, when Busch swore to get back at Bell. Given this past encounter between the two, would you believe that a JGR veteran connected the two of them?

Christopher Bell has been at Joe Gibbs Racing since 2021. Since then, he has accumulated 12 victories so far, putting up a record-breaking three-peat in 2025 for the first time in the Next-Gen era. This tendency to be legendary can only be traced to a few Cup Series drivers. That is how a JGR veteran made a jaw-dropping comparison.

Kyle Busch has an unlikely clone

Well, anybody would have gotten jitters after seeing Rowdy’s rage in 2024. It looked like his bond with Christopher Bell would take an interminably long time to thaw. However, a year passed by, and the two visibly sorted out their differences. In 2025, both drivers faced each other yet again at COTA. Busch led for a race-high 42 laps, but a determined Bell kept hounding him until he finally passed him with 6 laps left as Busch’s tires began to fade. Despite getting subdued on the track, Busch personally went up to the Victory Lane podium to congratulate his old foe. This straightened out their earlier clash for good as both arrived on the same page. However, the two drivers are more similar than easily visible. That is what the No. 20 JGR crew chief pointed out recently.

Adam Stevens has been working with Christopher Bell since 2021. But before that, Stevens was Kyle Busch‘s crew chief for six long seasons. So Stevens got a proper lens of perspective on both, while Busch is a 63-time Cup Series driver, a younger Bell is slowly approaching that number. In a recent press conference, Stevens highlighted some key similarities between the two. “They’re probably more similar than people realize. Super hardworking, knows what to shoulder and what to put on other people’s shoulders, and is very fair about it. And Bell is the same way. Behind the scenes and the work they put in, and their dedication and commitment to the team, very, very similar. Utmost respect for both of them and how they do their work. Bell came up through the Kyle Busch school to some degree.”

One point worth noting is that Christopher Bell was groomed as a young racer by Kyle Busch himself! Bell worked on his craft in the Truck Series under the Kyle Busch Motorsports umbrella, and Busch was constantly in his corner, mentoring the young star. Busch even reflected on the pride he feels seeing Bell and William Byron, another mentee of his, compete for championships during a conversation with Kevin Harvick earlier this year, saying, “The William’s [Byron] and Christopher’s [Bell], them being as good as they are, as strong as they are and championship 4 contenders each and every year, makes you feel a sense of pride.”

Kyle Busch parted ways with Stevens in 2021 due to a disagreement regarding team changes. Despite the disenchantment, Stevens still hails the now Richard Childress Racing driver’s iconic status. Additionally, he also trumpeted Bell’s better relations with the two-time Cup Series champion. Stevens continued, “And I know that both of them have a lot of respect for each other, and they race each other that way. So, it would be eye-opening if you guys were privy to how much they have in common, I guess. I think a lot of that comes with the immense, God-given talent that they have, and how they’ve been able to harness it. And the work that they put in to be great. It’s pretty humbling to be a part of two careers in that manner.”

Clearly, one nasty on-track exchange can hide jaw-dropping truths about drivers. What is more? Christopher Bell does not intend to stop his Busch-like rise.

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Rebounding from chaos

Unlike Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell was in a good position last year. While the RCR driver faced his first winless year in his Cup Series career, Bell picked up three victories. However, the No. 20 team went into an 18-race drought in the final stretch. During the Martinsville playoff race, Bell missed the Championship 4 race due to a post-race penalty.

He felt ‘cheated’ by Chevrolet teams, who he said ‘fixed and manipulated’ the ending of the race, (William Byron got into the Championship 4). Yet Bell swallowed that defeat and looked ahead. As a result of putting their heads together, Bell and everybody on his No. 20 team ended up winning four races already through 13 races in 2025.

After winning the All-Star Race, Christopher Bell assigned a lot of his soaring confidence to Adam Stevens. His crew chief helped him look past defeats: “Really, the last 12 months, (crew chief) Adam (Stevens) has been on me hard about just making sure that I beat that tendency. And I don’t think you’ll completely beat it, but I have been able to see myself mature in that stage of just taking what’s coming to us and getting to the checkered flag, and that really shows this last two months or so.” He added, “In the last 12 months, I do feel like I’ve done a great job at maturing as a driver and finishing races off.”

Hence, Adam Stevens’ latest star driver is giving his all to excel in the Cup Series. Who knows, maybe Christopher Bell will clinch a championship by getting inspired by his COTA rival and former mentor, Kyle Busch?