NASCAR: 3 possible landing spots for Christopher Bell in 2021

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Erik Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, NASCAR, Cup Series (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Christopher Bell 2021 landing spots: Joe Gibbs Racing

Only one of Joe Gibbs Racing’s four drivers entered the year without contract to compete next season, and that is Erik Jones, who sits below the playoff cut line in 19th place in the playoff picture and has just two wins since joining the team ahead of the 2018 season.

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Meanwhile, teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have won 13 races and 11 races in that same span, and Busch hasn’t even won a race in 2020 while Hamlin didn’t even win a race in 2018. Teammate Martin Truex Jr. has won eight races since he joined the team ahead of the 2019 season.

Sure, there had been rumors that Hamlin will be leaving after the 2020 season to join Hendrick Motorsports, rumors which emerged after he was seen on a boat with Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon. But as far as true pending free agents are concerned, Jones is the only one at Joe Gibbs’s organization.

And now we know that Jones will not be back behind the wheel of the #20 Toyota next year, making Bell pretty much a shoe-in.

Jones had stated that he had begun contract negotiations with the team for next year, but after signing only a one-year extension late last season after he won at Darlington Raceway, there was always the belief that he needed to perform at a higher level to avoid being released, otherwise Bell would be the surefire bet to replace him.

While he competes for Leavine Family Racing, Bell already has a deal with Joe Gibbs Racing in place already after driving in the Xfinity Series for two seasons, and he was sent to Bob Leavine’s team this year because of the technical alliance between the organizations in a move that was likely planned since 2018.

The whole goal of sending him to the #95 Toyota was to prepare him for a promotion to the four-car team, and unless something changes dramatically, this is where Bell will end up next year.

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Where will Christopher Bell end up competing in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season? Will he stay with the Joe Gibbs Racing organization, which was the ultimate goal when he was promoted to the Cup Series this year? Could he leave Toyota altogether and join Stewart-Haas Racing or be the driver who gets to replace Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports? It appears to be only a matter of time before he is confirmed as Jones’s replacement.

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