The start of Christopher Bell’s 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season was decidedly underwhelming.
A crash and a 34th-place finish in the Daytona 500. Engine failure and 36th at Auto Club Speedway. A 10th at Las Vegas, followed by a 26th at Phoenix and a 23rd at Atlanta.
Five races into the season, it would have been difficult to predict that Bell and his Joe Gibbs Racing team would be challenging for the series championship late in the year, thanks largely to a couple of spectacular races in the playoffs.
Bell eventually finished third in the standings, winning three races and emerging from a hole that found him 21st in the point standings seven races into the year. His finish provides a boost into 2023, when he figures to be in the running for the title again.
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The turnaround started, Bell said as he looked back over the season, in practice for the third race, at Las Vegas.
“We started off so bad and got in such a points hole,” Bell said. “The first stretch was really a low point for us. We had to overcome that. At California we were mediocre. We got to Vegas. In practice Adam (crew chief Adam Stevens) felt like we needed to steer the car in one direction, and I was telling him the other. When he was able to give me what I needed to feel in the car, we immediately went to the top of the charts. That Vegas practice session was the turning point.
“We really started clicking well. The biggest thing was him learning what I needed in the car to be successful. We had such little time on the track in 2021. In 2022, having practice and qualifying really allowed us to gel and have success.”
By the time the playoffs arrived, Bell had won at New Hampshire and had pushed into the top 10 in points.
“When it came down to the playoff races, I knew that going to the mile-and-halfs I could hold my foot down,” he said. “I had confidence in my team that they were going to give me the balance in the car I needed to perform well.”
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Still, the playoffs threw big challenges at Bell. To advance, he needed wins in the races that ended the second round (Charlotte Roval) and the third round (Martinsville) and, remarkably, he got them. His performances in those races produced two of the best under-pressure runs of the season.
“Looking at those two races, we won under completely different circumstances,” Bell said. “At the Roval we didn’t have the fastest car, but we got the opportunity given to us with the late yellow flag and threw strategy at it. At Martinsville we did win by having one of the strongest cars that day. At Charlotte it was a case of never giving up.”
At Phoenix in the championship race, Bell finished 10th and was third among the four title contenders, behind champion Joey Logano and Ross Chastain.
“The last five weeks of the season were so stressful and full of emotions -- highs and lows,” Bell said. “I think the 20 group grew as a whole, and I feel like we’re capable of starting out the year extremely strong in 2023. I think the sky is the limit for us. I feel positive about what is going to happen when we start off the next season.”