Christopher Bell – No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE Preview – Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway

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No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE News and Notes:

  • BELL AT RICHMOND RACEWAY:  Christopher Bell will make his eighth NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) start at Richmond Raceway (RR) this weekend. In his previous seven starts at the 0.75-mile track, Bell has earned four top-five and five top-10 finishes.
  • RICHMOND 2023: Bell started 21st in the spring race at Richmond after practice and qualifying were rained out. Bell raced his way up to eighth to close out stage one while searching for lateral grip. He took the lead for a few laps towards the end of stage two before falling to second behind fresher tires. Bell continued to have a fast car through the final stage but came up a few positions short at the checkered flag, finishing fourth. In the fall of 2023, Bell started 29th and struggled with handling throughout stage one. During green flag stops in stage two Bell had a speeding penalty and had to serve a pass-through penalty, costing him a lap to the leaders. The team tried different strategies throughout the race, including taking the wave around, to try and get back on the lead lap but no cautions fell their way. Bell ultimately crossed the finish line 20th.
  • RICHMOND XFINITY SUCCESS: In five NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at RR, Bell has three wins, three top-five and four top-10 finishes. In addition, Bell has one pole position and has led a total of 457 laps. 
  • MOBIL 1: Mobil 1 high-performance synthetic motor oils are used by many of the world’s top race teams and celebrates over a decade of partnership with TRD. Mobil 1 was first named an official technology partner in 2010 with their support and lubricants helping Toyota drivers achieve multiple championships across several racing disciplines and several career defining victories.
  • COTA RECAP: Bell qualified fourth and leveraged pit strategy and a fast Toyota Camry XSE to win stage one at COTA. Bell remained strong throughout stage two finishing second and carried that momentum into the final stage. As the laps wound down Bell methodically worked his way about the 20-turn road course and made a hard charge for the win but didn’t have enough time to get there, earning a second-place finish at COTA.
  • JGR AT RICHMOND: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has claimed 18 NCS victories at Richmond. In 167 combined starts at the .526-mile oval, the organization has tallied 59 top-five finishes, 97 top-10s and 6,110 laps led. The championship-winning organization has won nine pole awards with an average start of 13.3 an average finish of 11.5.
  • RACE INFO: The Toyota Owners 400 at RR begins at 7:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 31, 2024. The race will be broadcast live on FOX, Sirius XM 90, and MRN Radio.

From the Cockpit:

Christopher Bell: “Richmond has been a really good track for me and that has a lot to do for the team I drive for. Joe Gibbs Racing has been exceptional at Richmond Raceway. Unfortunately, the last race we had at Richmond I didn’t do very well at all, so we need to put that behind us, but coming off of Phoenix this is the next short track with the new rules package so we’re really looking forward to seeing what we have, I think it’s going to be a good race for us.”

JGR PR

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