“I feel great”: Christopher Bell confident on current state of his season after New Hampshire win

Christopher Bell is confident about where the number 20 Toyota team stands today in the Cup arena. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has three wins, putting him on par with Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Hamlin for the most wins in the series this season. Bell also won his first Coca-Cola 600 this year and is currently 6th on points.

Christopher Bell won the 2017 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion driving the #4 entry for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He was also the regular season points champion that year. Bell's first Cup win came in 2021 at the Daytona International Speedway road course. Besides that, he also has several victories in the Xfinity Series driving for Joe Gibbs Racing with his latest one coming at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last Saturday.

Bell followed up his recent Xfinity win with another dominant victory in the USA Today 301 on Sunday. Former Cup Series champion and current FOX Sports analyst, Kevin Harvick, recently interviewed Christopher Bell and asked him how the latter felt about his season so far, especially after winning back-to-back races over the weekend.

"I feel great about where we're at right now and obviously the short track package has been really good for us," Bell said (11:59). "It seems like every time we go to the flat short tracks, we're doing good and my team has found something with the setup or the balance that really suits my style. That aspect is good."

However, Bell mentioned that Nashville Superspeedway, which will host the upcoming Cup race, has not been a strong track for his team. The Oklahoma native does not have a single top-5 finish in the three starts that he has made at the racetrack in Tennessee.

"I can't sit here and tell you that I feel great about Nashville because that has not been our best track since the NextGen car has come out. I think I feel as confident as anybody, but it goes in waves. Right now we're on a good wave. We know that we're going to have to stay working hard at it," he added.

Christopher Bell names the most important thing while racing on rain tires

NASCAR approved rain tires for the first time in 2023. That year itself, these purpose-built tires were used in the All-Star Race. The rain tires returned when NASCAR hosted its point-paying race at Richmond this year. However, NASCAR has never finished a race solely on these special tires until Sunday's race.

Christopher Bell swept the first-ever Cup Series race that ended on rain tires. On that note, Kevin Harvick was curious about Bell's mindset as NASCAR switched to the wet tires during the rain-delayed event.

"We're learning and it's all very new to us but it started out whenever we rolled off pit road," Christopher Bell recalled (8:25). "My number one thought process is just trying to figure out where the grip is at. And I started weaving back and forth and I figured out that it was either going to be the apron or lane 4 outside of the new pavement. That's what I committed to whenever they dropped the green flag."

However, as the rain stopped, and the track started drying up, relocating the grip was a challenge. On one hand, the dry line packs the most speed, but on the other, it leads to extreme tire wear. Reflecting on the same, Bell said,

"I think the most important thing is just to have a good balance on your car."

Christopher Bell's victory at Phoenix Raceway earlier this year locked him in the 2024 playoffs along with his teammate, Denny Hamlin. His next race at Nashville Superspeedway (June 30, 3 p.m. ET) can be watched on NBC Sports and Peacock and can be heard on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio.