“I was ready to upchuck”: $70M-worth Joe Gibbs comes clean on his ‘nervousness’ during JGR teammates Hamlin and Bell’s fierce Phoenix battle

The Shriners Children's 500 saw two Joe Gibbs Racing cars fight it out for the victory on the final two laps after the late restart. Christopher Bell eventually edged out Denny Hamlin to secure his third consecutive win of the season by 0.049 seconds. However, the intensity of the battle had $70 million worth (as per Celebrity Net Worth) Joe Gibbs almost throw up in the closing laps of the race.

Hamlin and Bell started the race on rows 5 and 6, respectively, and had two of the fastest cars in the field on Sunday. Both JG Racing drivers kept themselves in the Top 10 throughout the race and had a long battle in the final stage for the win.

Bell had a half a second advantage over his teammate's #11 Toyota for the most part in Stage 3. However, a late race caution on lap 305 caused by Ty Gibbs hitting the wall gave Hamlin the restart he needed to close that gap. He was ahead of Bell going into the final lap and got a massive push from the #5 Chevrolet of Kyle Larson on the front and backstretch.

The two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers were side-by-side entering Turn 3 on the final lap, but Bell ran his teammate up the racetrack on the exit and clinched the win by half of a tenth of a second. When Gibbs was asked after the race if he felt nervous as his two drivers were fighting it out, he said:

"Nervous isn't probably a good word for it. I was ready to upchuck. One of the things I always worry about when we get two of our cars up there, because that can make for an intense meeting tomorrow at 2:00. I can tell you that.

“Hey, they raced it out. It looked like nobody took unfair advantage. Just appreciate that. I think for the last two weeks in a row, we've had great finishes to races with people having a chance to show their skill and yet get it done the right way. I appreciate that again today," he added.

With this win, Christopher Bell is now just 13 points behind the championship leader, William Byron, in second place.

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Joe Gibbs talks about Christopher Bell joining an elite list of drivers

NASCAR: Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell, Shriners Children's 500 - Source: Imagn

Christopher Bell had not tasted victory in the last 19 races before he won his first race of the season at Atlanta. Now, he has three wins in a row. This is the first time a driver has won three consecutive races since NASCAR introduced the Next Gen car in 2022.

The last driver to achieve this feat was Kyle Larson in 2021. In the post-race press conference, Joe Gibbs was asked about the chances of Bell making it to four wins in a row. In the modern era of NASCAR, 1972 onwards, only eight drivers have ever won four back-to-back races.

The last time it happened was in 2007 when Jimmie Johnson achieved the feat on his way to winning the championship. If Bell can win the next race in Las Vegas, he will join an elite group of drivers. Speaking about this opportunity for the #20 team, Joe Gibbs noted, via SpeedwayDigest:

"I think it's what you said, puts him in an elite class. Three in a row is a huge deal. If we could do that, I know they'll be going there with excitement and thinking that they have a chance. I think that's all you can ask in pro sports, is a chance to do something great... Right now they're (the #20 team) kind of in a rare field of people that have accomplished things. It's out there for them and we'll see what happens."

Christopher Bell will get his chance at glory on Sunday, March 16, in the Pennzoil 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is scheduled to start at 3:30 pm ET.