NASCAR: 5 possible landing spots for Christopher Bell in 2019
By Asher Fair
Joe Gibbs Racing (NASCAR Xfinity Series)
Christopher Bell is in just his first NASCAR Xfinity Series, so while him returning to Joe Gibbs Racing as the driver of the #20 Toyota next year is probably his most likely option despite the fact that he wants to compete in the Cup Series, it may also be his best option so that he is not rushed to NASCAR’s highest level of competition.
Bell spent two seasons in the Truck Series before he was promoted to the Xfinity Series, so spending at least two seasons in the Xfinity Series certainly wouldn’t do him any harm in the long run in terms of his Cup Series goals even though he is already 23 years old, which is older than several other drivers who have competed in the Truck Series and Xfinity Series and now compete in the Cup Series.
In Bell’s first Truck Series season, he won one race and racked up nine top five finishes and 17 top 10 finishes in 23 starts en route to a third place finish in the championship standings. The following season, he won five races and racked up 15 top five finishes and 21 top 10 finishes in 23 starts en route to winning the championship.
While Bell has earned four victories so far in the 2018 Xfinity Series season, he is not the leader of the championship standings because of the fact that his consistency has not been on par with the consistency that some of the other drivers have had. His average finish of 10.9 is 2.2 positions lower than the average finish of JR Motorsports’ Elliott Sadler, whose average finish of 8.7 is the best among full-time drivers.
But if Bell cannot land a Cup Series ride and he does not want to continue driving in the Xfinity Series, what would his other option be?