NASCAR Cup Series: 5 drivers who Christopher Bell could replace in 2020

Erik Jones

After Daniel Suarez spent two seasons as Joe Gibbs Racing’s lowest driver in the championship standings and was the only one of the team’s four drivers in both of those two seasons who failed to qualify for the playoffs, Joe Gibbs Racing moved on from him and signed Martin Truex Jr. from the now defunct Furniture Row Racing.

While Erik Jones earned his first career victory in his first season driving for the four-car powerhouse team last year in the July race at Daytona International Speedway and he is reportedly working toward a contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing, the same thing could very well happen to him if he does not step it up throughout the remainder of the season.

Yes, Jones did win a race last year while Suarez went two full seasons without winning a race driving for the team. But the fact that the 22-year-old Byron, Michigan native’s only victory in 43 races driving for arguably NASCAR’s top team is a restrictor plate race victory is not exactly the best indicator of him having a ton of success.

With Suarez now driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, Jones has taken over as Joe Gibbs Racing’s lowest driver in the championship standings down in 16th place and just barely above the playoff cut line. He finished in 16th in last year’s standings as well behind two of the team’s other three drivers, and right now, the team’s other three drivers are all in the top seven, including two in the top two.

Christopher Bell has been waiting in the wings with Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing for several years, and if Jones cannot prove that he has earned the right to continue driving for Toyota’s powerhouse Cup Series organization, Bell could move from the driver of the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Xfinity Series to the driver of the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Cup Series.