Christopher Bell has competed in select NASCAR Xfinity Series (now O'Reilly Auto Parts Series) races for Joe Gibbs Racing, where he spent two full seasons in 2018 and 2019, since joining the organization's Cup Series team full-time in 2021.
Several of those starts have come at Darlington Raceway, where Bell made his fourth O'Reilly Series start since 2021 this past Saturday behind the wheel of the No. 19 Toyota and finished third.
But unless he joins another team for a one-off, like he did a year ago for Sam Hunt Racing at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Saturday's race is set to be Bell's only O'Reilly Series race of the 2026 season, as Joe Gibbs Racing's plans for the No. 19 Toyota for the remainder of the year are now set.
Christopher Bell replacement confirmed for Martinsville
Brent Crews was signed to be the team's fourth full-time driver, joining William Sawalich in the No. 18 Toyota, Brandon Jones in the No. 20 Toyota, and Taylor Gray in the No. 54 Toyota, but because his 18th birthday isn't until Monday, March 30, he was forced to miss four of the season's first six races.
He was ineligible to compete in the races at ovals more than 1.25 miles in length, including Daytona International Speedway, EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway), Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Darlington, although he did compete in the races at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and Phoenix Raceway.
The season's seventh race is scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 28, when Crews still won't be 18, but it is scheduled to take place at the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) Martinsville Speedway oval, meaning that the Hickory, North Carolina native is eligible to compete anyway.
After that, he is set to be 18 and thus eligible to run every remaining race on the schedule.
Crews, who was replaced by Gio Ruggiero at Daytona and Atlanta, Chase Briscoe as Las Vegas, and Bell at Darlington, is expected to be granted a playoff waiver, which would keep him eligible for the 12-driver postseason if he should manage to qualify with a top 12 finish in the regular season point standings.
Through six races, and notably with 18 to go in the regular season, Crews sits 29th in the standings, 73 points below the playoff cut line, with finishes of sixth at COTA and 18th at Phoenix to his credit.
Tune in to the CW Network at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 28 for the live broadcast of the NFPA 250 from Martinsville Speedway. Catch all of the action with a free trial of FuboTV now!