While he competed in the race at Pocono a week after the horrific crash involving Chase Elliott at Michigan, Christopher Bell is all set to take on the San Diego race this weekend. The Joe Gibbs Racing team has also picked out a standby driver. 

On Lap 148 of the Michigan race, Elliott and Bell were involved in a high-speed collision that led to Bell fracturing his wrist. At Pocono, on June 14, the No. 20 driver raced with a cast on. However, as NASCAR heads into the road-course stretch of the season, the tracks might prove to be difficult for Bell. He breaks silence before the San Diego race.

“This is gonna be a challenge for sure," Bell accepted on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on June 17. "Anytime that I have to use my left hand to hold the wheel and certainly turning while shifting is going to be the hardest part, and then you know road courses just have a lot of wheel movement than tracks like Pocono."

The Naval Base Coronado track is expected to be bumpy and far more physically demanding than Pocono. NASCAR’s debut event on an active military base features a 16-turn, 3.4-mile circuit that drivers are already labeling one of the most technical road courses they’ve ever tackled.

"Going to San Diego where I'm gonna have to be turning with my left hand and shifting with my right hand off the steering wheel is going to be difficult, and I won’t know how I feel in the car until we get there and do practice," added Bell.

Bell remains hopeful of participating in the race and completing it. Joe Gibbs Racing has also announced that they have Brent Crews on standby. The O’Reilly driver has been granted permission by the sanctioning body to stand in as a relief driver for Bell in case he is unable to compete in the race on Sunday, June 21. 

While Bell’s participation in the upcoming road courses remains uncertain, his performance at Pocono proved how competitive he can be despite the injury. 

Christopher Bell Overcomes Injury at Pocono Before Fuel Drama Derails Finish

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver participated in the race at Pocono with a cast on his left hand. However, that did not stop him from fighting for a top 10 finish before his race came undone on the final lap. 

He spent most of his afternoon outside the top 20, but after pitting on Lap 107, he found himself in the lead and maintained it. 

However, as he approached the closing laps of the race, Bell began to run out of fuel, and his teammate Denny Hamlin began cutting down the gap as he eventually overtook the No. 20 driver with four laps to go. 

Christopher Bell ran out of fuel with just one lap to go, and he was forced to settle for a 26th-place finish. While his final result did not reflect the pace he carried throughout the race, Bell proved that he can be competitive even with an injury. 

But it will be interesting to see how he performs at San Diego, which is expected to be a highly physically demanding track. 

What do you think of the challenges Bell will be facing at San Diego? Let us know in the comments.

Read more at RFK Racing Digest.

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar