9th Place Finish for Bell at Phoenix

RACE: Instacart 500
TRACK: Phoenix Raceway
START: 4th
FINISH: 9th
LAPS: 312 laps

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-75)

• Christopher Bell started fourth Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway in the No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry
• The car fired off good but started to have a loose in and loose off handling condition develop by the competition caution on lap 30.
• Bell pitted at the competition caution for four tires, fuel, air pressure and wedge adjustments.
• Following the pit stop the Rheem Toyota was handling well but got tight after Bell brushed the wall.
• With the tight handling condition Bell fell back to 11th to finish stage one.
• At the stage break he brought his Rheem Toyota back down pit road for a few more adjustments and to make sure the fender was clear from the tire after brushing the wall.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 83-190)

• Bell started 16th and finished 10th in stage two.
• The tight handling condition continued during stage two and the team took every opportunity they could to pit for fresh tires and adjustments.
• Bell finished stage two 10th and said his car was better, but he still needed a little more help with center turn.
• At the stage break Bell pitted again for adjustments and with a fast stop by his pit crew gained five positions.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 191-312)

• Bell started stage three fifth and crossed the finish line ninth.
• Bell ran inside the top 10 for the opening run of the final stage.
• Under caution on lap 264, Bell came down pit road sixth, but the car rolled off the jack during the stop, resulting in a long stop.
• Bell restarted 17th on lap 268 and raced his way forward to finish ninth at Phoenix.

Additional Notes

• Martin Truex Jr. led Joe Gibbs Racing’s four-car contingent taking home the checkered flag in the Instacart 500. Denny Hamlin finished third and Kyle Busch was 25th.

Christopher Bell Quote

How was your top-10 run today?
“I was really happy with our Rheem Camry. It was pretty fast. Right off the bat, we were pretty good, we just had to tweak on the balance just a little bit to get it going. I felt like we were in really good shape had it stayed green. Our long-run speed was pretty good. I felt like we were going to be looking at another top-five, but I made a lot of mistakes throughout the course of the race that cost us a better finish. I’m happy to keep the momentum rolling, get another top-10. Hopefully, we can keep rolling, but definitely have to clean up the mistakes on my part.”

Next Up:The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the next stop on the 2021 schedule. The race will be broadcast live Sunday, March 21 at 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX