With a fist bump and the checkered flag after his third career victory in New Hampshire, Christopher Bell had to reward the young boy wearing his T-shirt.
When Bell claimed it was rare to see any fan wearing his goods at the track, he laughed. So, while Bell has a lot of Xfinity Series wins under his belt, he still needs to focus on growing his fan base.
“I don’t have a ton of shirts up here in the Northeast,” Bell said. “I haven’t done a lot of racing up here. My popularity, I’m just really calm, quiet, reserved. I’m not going to win a popularity contest but hopefully I can win more races.”
Bell turned an Xfinity Series spot start into a victory for Joe Gibbs Racing on Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, winning in a romp for Joe Gibbs Racing.
When he was needed as a late replacement driver, Bell made his first start in NASCAR’s second-tier series since 2019. In the No. 54 Toyota, he won every stage for his 17th Xfinity victory. In 2018, he won seven races, and in 2019, he won nine, and he was promoted to the Cup last season.
This season, Bell is 15th in the Cup Series, racing for Joe Gibbs Racing. This season, Bell won his first Cup race at the Daytona road course.
“I’ve got really, really fast race cars to drive,” Bell said.
He knew how to take the checkered flag in New Hampshire, where he won for the third time in the Xfinity Series. Bell makes the most of his shot in the Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200.
“I didn’t have any Xfinity races on my calendar. I’m not really sure what happened,” Bell said. “I think Ty Gibbs maybe was supposed to run it and ended up doing the ARCA deal. I’m not really sure what happened, but I was very thankful for the opportunity.”
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The rest of the field wasn’t so thankful. He led 151 of 200 laps.
“I definitely didn’t expect like I was for sure going to win,” Bell said. “I figured I would have a really good shot at it. I felt I was going to have a shot at it, for sure.”
Daniel Hemric, Austin Cindric, and Harrison Burton finished second, third, and fourth, respectively.
Cindric and Burton capped a big week, as Cindric was selected driver of Team Penske’s flagship No. 2 car in the Cup Series next season, and Burton will drive for Wood Brothers Racing in the 21 Ford next season.
Hemric and Burton also race for JGR.
In the Xfinity Series, Bell kept the ball rolling for JGR. This season, Bell, Kyle Busch, and Ty Gibbs have won eight races in the No. 54. After winning last week in Atlanta, Busch went 5-for-5 and announced his retirement from the series.
Bell and Busch are the only drivers to win three New Hampshire races in a row, and JGR has won six in a row overall.
Bell made it clear to the Cup field that he may be a force on Sunday. On Saturday, he was awarded a trophy. If Bell wins the Cup race on Sunday, he’ll be rewarded with a live lobster in victory lane.
“I’m not crazy about touching the lobster,” Bell said. “My wife is excited about it. I will probably let her hold it.”
At least the kid had a souvenir worth saving.
“It’s really cool to see a kid wearing my T-shirt,” Bell said. “That’s really special. Hopefully, he has a lifelong memory. Man, I love this place.”
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