Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Brent Crews was named Christopher Bell's standby driver for Sunday's Cup Series race, as Bell continues to recover from the fractured wrist he suffered in his crash at Michigan International Speedway two weekends ago.
Bell was able to run the full race at Pocono Raceway one week ago, but the demands of the new 19-turn, 3.4-mile (5.472-kilometer) Qualcomm Circuit, also known as the Coronado Street Course, on Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, California proved to be too much.
It was confirmed before Sunday afternoon's 75-lap race began that Crews would replace Bell behind the wheel of the No. 20 Toyota, but it would not happen until the race's first caution flag period, just so Bell could be credited with Crews' stage and race results and the points that come with them.
Christopher Bell replaced by JGR at San Diego
The first stage caution was scheduled to take place after lap 20, at the conclusion of the first of the race's three stages, but the race's first caution flag preceded it on lap 12, when the No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. stalled on the race track.
Bell was running 14th at the time, as he had not yet made a pit stop, and Crews replaced him during the yellow.
Bell entered the Anduril 250, the 17th of 26 races on the 2026 regular season schedule, sitting 10th in the point standings, 70 points above the playoff cut line. He qualified 35th in the 39-car field but was among those who dropped to the rear of the field before the race began.
The Anduril 250 is currently airing live on Amazon Prime Video from Qualcomm Circuit. Don't miss any of the remaining action from the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season's fifth and final race on Prime!
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