NASCAR: Christopher Bell neither confirms, denies Leavine rumors

Christopher Bell has neither confirmed nor denied rumors that he will drive for Leavine Family Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series next year.

Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Xfinity Series superstar Christopher Bell was recently tipped to replace Matt DiBenedetto behind the wheel of the #95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota for the 2020 Cup Series season.

The next day, DiBenedetto confirmed that he will not be returning to the team next year, setting up a potential move for Bell, and Erik Jones has been tipped to return to Joe Gibbs Racing as their fourth Cup Series driver as well, which would not leave an open ride for Bell to land.

Bell re-signed with Joe Gibbs Racing in late June, but it was deemed “unclear” in which series he would drive. That said, he could still drive for Leavine Family Racing while under contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, effectively on loan.

The two teams formed a technical alliance with one another ahead of the 2019 season after Leavine Family Racing switched manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota.

However, despite the fact that this appears to be all but a done deal, the 24-year-old Norman, Oklahoma native has refused to make a comment leaning one way or the other as to whether or not these rumors will come to fruition.

Here is what Bell had to say, according to NASCAR.

"“It’s still all up in the air. There’s a number of different cars that I could drive next year. Obviously I could still run the Xfinity Series. I could go to the Cup Series. It’s not in my hands right now. I just have to go out there and try to continue to win races. Ultimately, that’s the only way I’m going to better myself."

When asked about the possibility of driving for Leavine Family Racing, he added the following.

"“I don’t know. That’s tough for me to answer because right now I drive for Joe Gibbs Racing and the 95 is not a Joe Gibbs Racing car. So, we’ll just have to see how it works out here in the next coming weeks.”"

Once again, given the technical alliance between the two teams, this would not be like Bell leaving Joe Gibbs Racing altogether, so his remark about the #95 Toyota being “not a Joe Gibbs Racing car” is effectively a non-issue.

But his refusal to make any claims without anything etched in stone is respectable.

More from NASCAR Cup Series

• NASCAR Cup Series: New team set to compete in 2024
• NASCAR: Surprising name continuously linked to new seat
• NASCAR driver at risk of missing the Daytona 500?
• NASCAR set for rare appearance last seen 13 years ago
• NASCAR team adds third car, names driver for 2024 Daytona 500

Last August, Bell even stated that he was ready to be promoted to the Cup Series, and hardly anybody disagreed with him even though he will still in the midst of his rookie Xfinity Series season.

Many expected that he would be the driver of the #95 Toyota this season, so when DiBenedetto ended up being named that driver, it came as somewhat of a surprise.

Now, however, it seems like it was all a part of the master plan of Joe Gibbs Racing team owner Joe Gibbs given the progression that Leavine Family Racing have made this year with DiBenedetto driving the team through their growing pains while Bell is still racking up wins in the Xfinity Series with a great chance to deliver the team their first championship since the 2016 season when Daniel Suarez won the title.

The odds that Bell will return to Joe Gibbs Racing for a third consecutive season at NASCAR’s second highest level are small regardless of whether or not he wins his first championship in the series this year assuming that there is a way for him to move to the Cup Series through Joe Gibbs Racing, which there appears to be.

When it’s all said and done, expect Christopher Bell to be a NASCAR Cup Series rookie next season driving for Leavine Family Racing as Matt DiBenedetto’s replacement behind the wheel of the #95 Toyota while on loan from Joe Gibbs Racing.