Christopher Bell – No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota Camry TRD Preview – Darlington Raceway

No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota Camry TRD News and Notes:

  • Darlington Raceway: Christopher Bell will make his sixth NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) start at Darlington Raceway in the No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota Camry TRD on Sunday. Bell had strong runs going at Darlington in 2021 until trouble late in both races. In the spring race one year ago, Bell was running in the top five with five laps remaining but had to pit under green for a flat tire. He was able to rebound to finish 14th. In the fall race, Bell restarted second in the final stage but had to pit for a loose wheel under green.
  • Throwback Weekend: Toyota is celebrating their 1,500th race competing in NASCAR this weekend in Darlington and to commemorate the milestone the No. 20 will carry a special throwback scheme to Bell’s 2017 NASCAR Truck Series Championship year. Bell carried the SiriusXM colors five times in 2017 and two of his five wins that season came with SiriusXM on the hood of his truck.
  • Bell NXS at Darlington: Bell has two NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at Darlington Raceway. Bell narrowly missed qualifying on the pole for each start, qualifying second both times and in 2019 he crossed the finish line fourth.
  • SiriusXM: SiriusXM is the leading audio entertainment company in North America. SiriusXM offers unique programming and content across the company’s subscription- and digital advertising-supported audio platforms. SiriusXM’s platforms collectively reach approximately 150 million listeners, the largest digital audio audience across paid and free tiers in North America, and deliver music, sports, talk, news, comedy, entertainment and podcasts. NASCAR fans can hear races live on their SiriusXM radios, the SXM App or however they stream at home. Streaming access is included with all of SiriusXM’s trials and most popular plans. SiriusXM’s exclusive SiriusXM NASCAR Radio channel airs nationwide 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and delivers in-depth racing coverage with up-to-the-moment NASCAR news and live broadcasts of every NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
  • Dover Recap: Bell qualified 17th and with some pit strategy restarted fifth on Monday at Dover after rain postponed the race. Bell started stage two second but a few laps in reported a loose wheel and had to pit. The team lost two laps but rallied back by taking the “wave around” during stage two and also racing his way into the “lucky dog” position. Bell was running ninth with 100 laps to go and raced his way up to fourth by the checkered flag.
  • JGR at Darlington: JGR has claimed 10 NCS victories at Darlington. In 108 combined starts at the 1.366-mile oval, the organization has tallied 34 top-five finishes, 66 top-10s and 2,287 laps led. The championship-winning organization has two pole awards with an average start of 14.0 an average finish of 11.3.
  • RACE INFO: The Goodyear 400 at Darlington begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 8, 2022. The race will be broadcast live on FS1, Sirius XM 90, and MRN Radio.

From the Cockpit:

Christopher Bell: “Darlington is going to be tough. My teammate Denny Hamlin did a tire test there and lost grip over the course of the run. As we know it’s been the name of the game trying to keep your car balanced and handling well over the course of a tire run is very difficult and with these new cars it’s become even more difficult. It’s going to be a battle for sure and to see whoever can get their car to drive the best on old tires.”

JGR PR