Since joining the Cup series full-time in 2020 – and especially since moving to Joe Gibbs Racing the following season – Bell has been a fairly consistent performer, winning half a dozen races and he has even advanced to the Championship 4 the last two seasons.
What Bell and his No. 20 Toyota team have not done is produce the week-in, week-out races of running up front and without mistakes that is needed to become a regular threat to win.
His win Sunday may have offered a glimpse of a change.
Bell won Stage 2, overcame a pit road issue to return to the front and then rallied from 20th to the lead after his was among the teams that pit for the final time on lap 218 of 312 during what turned out to be the race’s final caution.
Some teams had stopped before Bell, several stayed out hoping for another caution. When those that stayed out eventually were forced to pit for fuel, Bell – who had smartly taken four new tires on his final stop – emerged with a comfortable lead and then victory over Chris Buescher.
The win showed Bell’s team could rally from adversity – and more importantly – do what it takes to win at Phoenix, where the series championship is decided in November.
“This is an important one. If you’re not good here, you’re never going to be a champion,” Bell, 29, said. “I just hope that this gives a little bit more insight to the world the capability that the No. 20 team has.
“I feel like the last two years through the Next Gen era, myself and everyone inside of our team have seen glimpses of the potential but haven’t really been able to live it to fruition yet.
“I mean, I say this a lot, and the rest is up to us to make it happen, but I feel like this is just the beginning.”
Finally sealing the deal
Certainly, advancing to the Championship 4 for two consecutive seasons is an impressive achievement in its own right, but Bell sees the potential for much, much more.
“Making the Final 4 and winning one or two races a year, that’s not our final goal. We don’t want to be a one- or two-win team a year,” he said.
“We want to be the championship contender year after year, multiple race wins year after year.”
Bell’s victory also highlighted an important day for Toyota teams in general at Phoenix.
Toyota drivers led all but 14 of laps in Sunday’s race. In the four previous races at the track, Toyota had failed to earn a win and its drivers led a combined total of 15 laps.
“Clearly the JGR cars and the Toyota group hit on the set-up the best. We saw that in 2022 whenever Next Gen (car) was first introduced, the Fords smoked everybody this race,” Bell said. “It just takes time with these changes to optimize it.
“We’re on the winning side of it this time. But the field is going to be tighter, and I would expect the favorites are going to be up front whenever we come back in November.”
