Getty Christopher Bell will pursue his first Cup Series championship.
The No. 20 Toyota Camry is going to have a championship-winning look for Throwback Weekend, the annual celebration of NASCAR history. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell will head to Darlington Raceway on May 7-8 with his scheme from the 2017 season.
JGR unveiled the scheme on May 2 before Bell turned in a fourth-place finish at Dover Motor Speedway. The team revealed that Bell will bring back the black and blue SiriusXM scheme that he used while driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports as part of a celebration of Toyota’s 1,500th race in NASCAR. The entry will have the blue and white stripes on the front fenders and white door numbers with a blue shadow.
🚨 THROWBACK 🚨
In celebration of @ToyotaRacing‘s upcoming 1,500th #NASCAR race, @CBellRacing will run a @SIRIUSXM scheme from his 2017 championship-winning Truck season.
“I’ve been a proud member of Team Toyota for several seasons and I’m excited to be a part of this milestone race in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Bell said in a press release. “SiriusXM has been such a big part of so many big moments in my NASCAR career thus far, and I’m thrilled that they are on my Camry this weekend as we look to deliver a victory.”
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Bell won five Camping World Truck Series races during the 2017 season while also capturing five poles. He secured his spot in the playoffs and remained consistent enough to move on to the championship round. He faced off with two champions in Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton, as well as a Truck Series rookie in Austin Cindric, and he ended the year with a one-point advantage in the championship standings.
Bell Has Limited Cup Experience at Darlington Raceway
GettyChristopher Bell waves to the fans at Richmond Raceway.
The driver of the No. 20 will put his own scheme on display during Throwback Weekend, which will provide him with an opportunity to gain more Cup Series experience at one of the most difficult tracks on the schedule.
Bell has only made five starts at The Lady in Black — two with Joe Gibbs Racing. He made three starts at the track in 2020 while driving for Leavine Family Racing, and he posted a career-best finish of 11th overall. He then returned to Darlington in 2021 with JGR and posted top-20 finishes.
Bell will make his sixth start at Darlington mere days after rebounding from an unexpected issue at Dover. He started Stage 2 from the front row, but he had to make an unscheduled pit stop due to a loose wheel. He fell two laps down during this stop, but he was able to get back on the lead lap by the midpoint of the race. He then capped off his day with a top-five finish.
Throwback Weekend Continues Bell’s Partnership With SiriusXM
The race at Darlington Raceway will mark the second points-paying Cup Series race featuring a SiriusXM scheme on the No. 20 Toyota Camry. It will also continue a partnership between the former champion and his longtime supporter.
JGR announced on January 2 that Bell would work with SiriusXM once again while competing in his third full-time season. He would showcase the scheme during five race weekends, starting with the Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial Coliseum.
The initial schedule for Bell also featured races at Martinsville Speedway (April 9), Darlington Raceway (May 8), Michigan International Speedway (7), and Talladega Superspeedway (October 2). He used a Yahoo scheme during Martinsville weekend as part of a massive partnership spanning multiple series, so he debuted the SiriusXM scheme one week earlier at Richmond.
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