NASCAR
Off to a strong start, Christopher Bell is poised for a breakout season
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
AUSTIN, TX (March 4, 2025) — If you’re looking for a subtitle for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, try “Christopher Bell Unbound.”
Freed from the embargo that prevented him from racing on dirt for three years, Bell is competing with joy this season—and with performance to match.
On a windy, temperate Sunday at the auspiciously shortened road course at Circuit of the Americas, Bell won his second straight race in NASCAR’s premier division and indicated, without boast, that there likely are more victories to come.
“I’m ready to keep adding to it,” Bell said after the race.
That prospect isn’t far-fetched. In fact, given the speed in his No. 20 Toyota and the flawless execution by his team, it’s not inconceivable that Bell could extend his winning streak to three or four races.
He’s the defending winner of this Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM). In last year’s season finale at the same one-mile flat track, Bell led a race-high 143 laps before finishing fifth.
In two of the last three races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the Cup Series will race on Mar. 16, Bell has finished second after winning the pole. In the 2024 Playoff event at the 1.5-mile track, Bell led a race-high 155-laps but finished second to Joey Logano by 0.662 second.
If any race was emblematic of Bell’s performance in 2024, it was that close call at Las Vegas. The No. 20 car often had winning speed, but Bell and his team all too often failed to deliver the coup de grace.
This season seems vastly different. A dirt-track Prometheus unchained from team owner Joe Gibbs’ prohibition against extracurricular racing, Bell entered 2025 with renewed confidence, steeled determination and, yes, unbridled joy.
Before turning a lap in a NASCAR Cup car, the 30-year-old from Norman, Oklahoma, won the 55-lap Non-Wing Outlaw feature at the Tulsa Shootout in a photo finish over 2021 NASCAR champion Kyle Larson.
On Jan. 13, he dominated the Chili Bowl Race of Champions against world-class midget race car drivers. On February 6, after finishing 12th in the Cook Out Clash for Cup cars at Bowman Gray Stadium, Bell won his first World of Outlaws winged sprint car feature event since 2019.
Success on dirt no doubt has contributed to Bell’s sanguine posture entering the Cup Series regular season. But why would Gibbs relax his long-standing ban on moonlighting in other forms of racing?
“I think as much as anything, we have three of our guys (Bell, new hire Chase Briscoe and grandson Ty Gibbs) heavily involved in dirt stuff,” Gibbs said. “I felt like that the thing that I probably made the decision on, they’re really focused just on racing.
“They love it, and they talked about the offseason, being able to get a chance to race some dirt stuff would help fill their time and get them excited about things. We’ll kind of see where he leads, but I made that decision, and we’ll kind of see what happens with it.”
So far, so good.
After victories at Atlanta and COTA, Bell will try for three straight at Phoenix, a feat no Cup driver has accomplished since NASCAR introduced its Next Gen Cup car in 2022. Larson is the last driver to have won three consecutive Cup races, which he did twice during his 10-victory season in 2021.
Bell knows it won’t be easy, given the way the Next Gen car has leveled the competition.
“Back in the day, I remember it was the big three,” Bell said. “Everyone had the big three. It was Kyle (Busch), Martin (Truex Jr.) and (Kevin) Harvick there for a little bit, and different guys would come and go. It seemed like those teams had a little bit extra.
“Now, with the Next Gen car, you can’t really get that advantage. Winning has certainly become harder. More guys are capable of it. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing is debatable, but it’s the sport that we live in and compete in right now.”
This year, Bell does seem to have something extra, but it comes from within. He appears more resolute, with higher expectations.
“It’s time to start putting it all together,” he said. “I’m sitting here 30 years old and (have) the opportunity of a lifetime in front of me. I’ve had this team for a long time, and I haven’t been performing to the standards that I hold myself and this team holds everybody.
“So, we need to start today, and we’re off to a good start this year.”
Another win at Phoenix certainly isn’t out of the question. Neither is a victory at Las Vegas, though winning four straight is a long shot for any competitor.
In NASCAR’s modern era (from 1972 to present), only eight drivers—Cale Yarborough (1976), Darrell Waltrip (1981), Dale Earnhardt Sr. (1987), Harry Gant (1991), Bill Elliott (1992), Mark Martin (1993), Jeff Gordon (1998) and Jimmie Johnson (2007)—have won four straight races.
Five of those drivers—Yarborough, Waltrip, Earnhardt, Gordon and Johnson—won championships in the years they established the streaks.
Bell could be next in both categories, if the last two races are any indication.
“I think it’s a testament to this team,” Bell said. “They have no weaknesses. We can win at any race track at any time… I feel like we may have a ride. I don’t want to speak too early, but doing good so far.”
BROOKLYN, MI (June 6, 2026) – Kris Wright and the No. 81 McAnally Hilgemann Racing team a hoping for better days after a frustrating DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
Wright started 27th in the No. 81 iHeart Radio Silverado RST on the 2-mile oval. The race was only 7-laps old when Wright was involved in an accident, causing him to lose a lap while his team made repairs.
Wright was quickly back on pit road on Lap 18 after a left rear tire issue required additional work by his crew. Wright returned to the race three laps down at that point.
“Brutal day for our iHeartRadio team,” said Wright. “The No. 81 crew worked hard all weekend to get speed in the truck, and we never really had the opportunity to show what we were capable of.”
Fuel-only pit stops during the races final stage enabled Wright and his team to finish 31st. Corey Heim was the race winner.
Fan favorite Cleetus McFarland, in only his second series start, rallied from a late race spin that brought out one of seven yellow flags – and finished 25th on the lead lap.
The trucks are off next week and will return to action June 19 in the inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race in San Diego on the Naval Base Coronado (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I’m looking forward to getting to San Diego in a couple of weeks,” said Wright. “Road courses have always suited my driving style, and it’ll be special to spend the weekend in Coronado celebrating the military members who will be in attendance.”
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
BROOKLYN, MI (June 6. 2026) – Reigning NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Corey Heim held off a dramatic checkered flag charge – in lapped traffic – from his TRICON Garage teammate Kaden Honeycutt to claim his first career win at the iconic Michigan International Speedway in Saturday’s DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics.
It’s Heim’s 26th career victory, but first ever on the two-mile Michigan high banks giving him series wins now on 22 different tracks – second best all-time only NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. has won at 31 venues. It’s Heim’s third win in only five truck starts this season and comes a week after announcing he will join the championship-leading 23XI Racing organization in the NASCAR Cup Series for 2027.
Heim’s No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota passed the day’s most dominant truck driven by NASCAR Cup Series regular Carson Hocevar with 15 laps remaining and crossed the line only .065-second ahead of Honeycutt’s No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota – the truck Heim drove to the championship last season.
He immediately thanked Honeycutt for the push forward in the final laps – his only laps out front all day – acknowledging the help put just enough distance on Hocevar, who led a race best 65 of the 126 laps.
“We discussed it pre-race that we were going to race it out in the end and that’s what we did,” the 23-year-old Georgia native Heim said. “He tried to get to my right rear there which would have probably won the race and I had to protect it.
“Props to Kaden there and to [fellow Toyota driver] Christopher Bell, I don’t know where he ended up but he was strong all day. The last couple laps there at the end, were pretty awesome.
“That was a lot of fun, I had a blast,” he added.
The 21-year-old Honeycutt certainly kept Heim honest in the closing run to the checkered, hoping to earn his second career win – matching his work at Watkins Glen, N.Y. in May.
“Good race there at the end, us five up there and I’m sure it was a good race for the fans so that was good,” Honeycutt said. “It was unfortunate I didn’t get the win there. Just feel like I’ve lost too many of them on my part so I think that’s what bothers me the most.”
Although boosted by a strong showing all day at his “home track,” the Michigan-native Carson Hocevar was clearly disappointed with his finish, explaining his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet truck had been overheating all day. He was hoping to win for the hometown crowd and especially for his mother, who is celebrating her birthday this weekend.
“Everyone did a good job,” he said, adding, “Just sucks we didn’t close it out there. Felt like I could have done a better job but don’t know what I could have done differently. Would like to see what I would have had full power.
“A lot of reasons to win here at Michigan.”
Front Row Motorsports teammates Chandler Smith and Layne Riggs rounded out the top-five – an especially valiant effort from Riggs, who went a lap down early after a pit stop issue. A winner in the previous two races, Riggs’ comeback to fifth place keeps him atop the championship standings by 26 over Honeycutt.
Bell finished sixth in the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Toyota after sweeping both stage wins and leading 37 laps – one of six race leaders on the afternoon. Fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr was seventh, followed by Connor Mosack, Jake Garcia and Tyler Ankrum.
Fan favorite Cleetus McFarland rallied from a late race spin that brought out one of seven yellow flags – and finished 25th on the lead lap in only his second series start.
After six consecutive races, the trucks go into an off-week and will return to action June 19 in the inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race at San Diego on the Naval Base Coronado (7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
LEBANON, TN – Call it victorious whiplash.
Race polesitter Denny Hamlin took the lead at the drop of the green flag – was penalized and re-set to last in the 38-car field for jumping that start – then rallied his way forward again in the ensuing 300 laps to be in front for the checkered flag of Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
After a back-and-forth among teammates on a final restart with four laps remaining – featuring a three-wide last-lap challenge for the win among three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas – Hamlin delivered the manufacturer its first victory at the 1.33-mile Nashville concrete oval, his No. 11 Toyota finishing a slight .115-second ahead of teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe.
“The 20 [Bell] and 19 [Briscoe] were battling so hard on that first corner it just let me get to the inside of the 20 at the first corner after the restart and from there, side-by-side with the 20,’’ Hamlin, 45, said describing the dramatic final laps that resulted in his 62nd career win.
“He [Bell] drove in so deep on that last lap into [turn] one that it just allowed me to barely clear off of [turn] two.
“What an unbelievable day starting first, going to last and then back to first.’’
For Bell, the close finish marked his second runner-up showing in as many weeks – simultaneously frustrating and encouraging. As with Hamlin, he recovered from an early race challenge – a pit stop miscue dropping his No 20 JGR Toyota from running among the top five to 30th place for a restart just before the finish of Stage 1.
“It was great racing, I hope the fans enjoyed that,’’ Bell said. “Just disappointed in myself, disappointed for my team. We brought a great race car and I didn’t get the job done.’’
The finish was certainly indicative of the close racing, important strategy calls and just flat-out team speed ultimately necessary to finally settle a race that featured a race record 31 lead changes among a record 15 drivers.
The race was delayed almost two hours because of weather, but when the action resumed, there was plenty of drama and intrigue.
The sold-out Nashville crowd issued a silent salute on lap eight to the late two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, 41, a beloved four-time Nashville winner (twice each in the CRAFTSMAN Trucks and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series), who passed away last week of sepsis.
In the laps thereafter, the intense action quickly settled in. Hamlin’s 57 laps out front were a race high, but nine different drivers led double digit laps. And 11 caution flags affected strategy throughout the night.
Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished fourth in the No. 47 Chevrolet, followed by a career-best fifth-place effort by Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen. The popular New Zealand road course ace turned in one of his best flag-to-flag oval performances running among the top 10 all night. His 12 laps led in the No. 97 Trackhouse Chevrolet were most for him on an oval track.
Reigning championship leader, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott were scored sixth and seventh but were collected in an accident just after taking the checkered flag in a hard push by the field to the finish.
Last year’s race winner, Ryan Blaney was eighth followed by Zane Smith, whose No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford was leading until 12 laps to go. Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar was 10th. Hendrick’s Kyle Larson – the reigning series champion – led 56 laps (only one lap less than Hamlin) but finished 23rd.
The race featured two first-time stage winners on the season – Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger (Stage 1) and last week’s Charlotte race winner, Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suárez (Stage 2).
With his sixth-place finish Reddick remains atop the standings, 97 points ahead of Hamlin and 174 points up on Blaney in third place.
The series moves a few hours north to Michigan Speedway for next Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner.
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