Christopher Bell speaks out on COTA’s ‘biggest area for issues’ after silly season reconfiguration

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was recently featured in a pre-race media day on Saturday, March 1, 2025, prior to the practice session. During the conference, Bell opened up about his ‘biggest area for issues’ for the third race of the season.

Bell has been racing at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) since 2021 and has competed in four races on the track. He secured two top-five finishes on the Austin, Texas-based track. Additionally, the Stock Car Racing Association has revamped the track, and it now features a 2.3-mile length with 20 turns testing the driver's ability.

During the media day, the interviewer asked Christopher Bell's concern about any potential spots on the new track. Reflecting upon the challenge ahead, Bell stated:

"I don't know. I think the trouble spots are always going to be turn 1 on the restarts. But with the new restart zone that they implemented, it seemed like that helped that out a lot. As a racer, I want it to be a little bit more straightforward and a little bit less trouble spots. We don't know how 6B and 6A are going to race yet. I think that could be like - it kind of reminds me of that section at Chicago - maybe (turn) 5 where it's really tight back through there and we saw a bunch of pile ups and the track can get blocked."

"So maybe that could happen. But turn 1, with it being the biggest brake zone, I think that's going to be the biggest area for issues. It seems like that got cleaned up a lot with the updated restart zone. I'm a fan of that, and hopefully it allows more of the best cars to race for the win," he added. (via SpeedwayDigest.com)

After the media day, the #20 Toyota Camry XSE driver participated in the qualifying session. Christopher Bell qualified 19th for the race behind his new teammate, Chase Briscoe. 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick secured the pole position for the race scheduled for Sunday, March 2, 2025.

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Christopher Bell reveals how winning early in the 2025 season changes his strategy for the rest of the season

During a post-race media interaction, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was questioned about winning the second race of the season and how it changed his approach for the season. Bell has won the second race of the season twice in his career; the previous instance was in February 2021.

Reflecting upon the question about his approach, the #20 Toyota Camry XSE driver mentioned that the win didn't change his strategy at all. He highlighted that while wrapping up the 2024 season, the team decided that they needed to win more races in the 2025 season.

"If we don’t win another race before the playoffs start or the end of the year, it’s not going to be a good season for us. We’re here to stay, and we need to prove that. We need to walk the walk and quit talking the talk," Bell claimed.

Christopher Bell also showed his gratitude for his mentor, Aric Almirola. Bell claimed that Almirola has helped him and his mental state whenever it comes to 'superspeedway stuff.'