Christopher Bell moving up to XFINITY Series in 2018 with Joe Gibbs Racing
By Nick Tylwalk
Some drivers get rushed through the ranks or have their careers stall out, but the climb for Christopher Bell appears to be going at just the right pace.
It remains to be seen if Christopher Bell will win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, where he currently is sitting in first place by a comfortable margin. What we do know is that he won’t be defending the crown next season if he wins it.
As reported on NASCAR.com, Bell is moving up to the NASCAR XFINITY Series next season to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing. The 22-year-old driver has been working his way up the ranks, finishing third in the Truck Series last year and then pulling off a dominant 2017 campaign with five wins so far.
While switching teams from Kyle Busch Motorsports, Bell is staying in the Toyota camp.
"“I can’t say that enough how thankful I am that they’ve believed in me through the thick and thin,” Bell said of Toyota’s support. “Last year I had a really — not a great season, and then this year has been really great. They believed in me enough to give me another opportunity this year in the Truck Series, and I’m really thankful for that, and I’m thankful that we get to continue our partnership.”"
JGR’s announcement stated that the car number, crew chief and sponsor for Bell would be announced at a later time. The team ran three full-time cars this season, though only the 19 of Matt Tifft (who made the playoff field) was driven by a single competitor. The 18 and 20 cars each had six-plus drivers in 2017, though they were used most often to give extra seat time to Cup Series rookies Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones.
With additional limits on how many XFINITY races the Cup Series regulars can take part in for 2018, it’s possible Gibbs could simply run Bell in one of those cars full-time and use just one car for Suarez, Jones and Kyle Busch, who is still seeking a few more victories in the second-tier series before he bids it adieu for good.