Christopher Bell – No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry TRD Preview – Circuit of the Americas - Speedway Digest

No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry TRD News and Notes:

CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS: The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) heads to Austin, TX for Circuit of the Americas (COTA), a 3.426-mile road course made up of 20 turns. The series first visited COTA in 2021 and raced in the rain. Bell qualified his No. 20 Toyota TRD Camry 10^th but was collected in an accident in stage two, ending his race early. In 2022, Bell qualified seventh and had a fast Toyota Camry TRD until the power steering went out. The team spent some time under the hood two different times adding fluid and assessing the issue. They were able to fix the power steering and capitalize on being in position for the lucky dog to rebound for a third-place finish.
ROAD COURSE HISTORY: Bell’s first NCS victory came on the road course at Daytona International Speedway in 2021, in addition to the win he went on to finish second at Road America and seventh at Watkins Glen that same year. In 2022, Bell once again showcased his road course skills with a win at the ROVAL and advancing through the playoffs. Bell had other strong road course runs in 2022, including a third-place finish at COTA, an eighth at Watkins Glen and rebounding for a 12^th at Indy after a flat tire.
ATLANTA RECAP: Bell made it to the final round of qualifying at Atlanta but ran a higher line in round two and spun out while making his qualifying lap. The team had to make some changes to the car after the spin and as a result started the race from the back of the field. By the end of stage one Bell has running inside the top 10 and as the laps wound down he was able to avoid wrecks and went on to earn a third-place finish at Atlanta.
DEWALT HOOD: DEWALT will feature The Porter Company on the lower hood of the No. 20 Toyota Camry TRD this weekend at COTA. For more information visit: https://www.theporterco.com/
DEWALT DECKLID: DEWALT will feature McCoy’s Building Supply on the decklid this weekend in Austin. For more information about McCoy’s, visit: https://www.mccoys.com/
JOE GIBBS RACING AT COTA: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has eight combined starts at COTA, with 18 total laps led, one top-five and three top-10 finishes. JGR has an average starting position of 12.1 and an average finish of 19.1 at the road course.
RACE INFO: The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 26, 2023. The race will be broadcast live on FOX, Sirius XM 90, and PRN Radio.

From the Cockpit:

Christopher Bell: “This will be the first road course race with the low downforce package so it will be interesting. Turn 1 on the restarts is always an exciting part for the fans and probably the most hated part for the drivers because sometimes you win big and sometimes you lose big, the way turn one opens up and gets really wide, it’s a heavy braking zone so it’s easy to get beside guys and muscle your way through there, that’s how I made up my ground last year, I wasn’t a third-place car but had a bunch of restarts at the end where I was fortunate to be in the right spot. Personally I love the esses and the little carousel on the back, I’ve always enjoyed the high speed stuff on the road courses so those are my favorite sections.”

Bell’s Career NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Circuit of the Americas: