NASCAR: Christopher Bell’s 2020 Leavine deal to be confirmed in September
By Asher Fair
The deal to send Christopher Bell to Leavine Family Racing for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to be announced by Joe Gibbs Racing before the end of September.
With Matt DiBenedetto having confirmed in mid-August that Leaving Family Racing will not renew his contract for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series superstar Christopher Bell has been tipped to take his place behind the wheel of the #95 Toyota.
Leavine Family Racing have a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing that they formed ahead of the 2019 season after switching manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota, so Bell driving for the team would not upset the contract extension that he signed with Joe Gibbs Racing in late June.
Bell has proven that he is more than ready to be promoted to the Cup a Series, and he has stated that he feels this way. After winning the 2017 Truck Series championship, he earned a rookie record and series-high seven victories in the Xfinity Series last year en route to a Championship 4 appearance.
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Through the first 25 races of the 33-race 2019 season, the 24-year-old Norman, Oklahoma native has earned a series-high six victories and appears to be well on his way back to the Championship 4.
There had been rumors that Bell would replace Erik Jones at Joe Gibbs Racing begins the wheel of the #20 Toyota ahead of the 2020 season, but the team confirmed that Jones is set to return next year after winning the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Even before he won that race, he had been tipped to return to the team.
As a result, it appears to be only a matter of time before Joe Gibbs Racing and Leavine Family Racing confirm that Bell is set to drive for the latter in the 2020 season.
According to Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern, this is indeed the case. Joe Gibbs Racing are expected to formally announce Bell’s plans for next year at some point within the next week or two, meaning that things should be shored up before the end of September.
.@JoeGibbsRacing is expected to formally announce @CBellRacing to @LFR95 for 2020 in the next week or two, now that @Erik_Jones' extension has been confirmed.
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) September 10, 2019
➖ JGR's deal with Bell is expected to give the team flexibility if it needs to keep him at LFR for '21 or recall him. pic.twitter.com/xxqZFEbYlL
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The confirmation of Christopher Bell at Leavine Family Racing for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, whenever it is officially announced, will mark the fall of another Silly Season domino, and one of the biggest ones at that.
The seat of the #20 Toyota at the Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series team would open up as a result of it, and if they sign Harrison Burton like many people expect them to, that would free up a seat at the Kyle Busch Motorsports Truck Series team, likely for one of the drivers who has driven for the team on a part-time basis this season.