Christopher Bell goes back-to-back with victory at Circuit of the Americas
Photo by Michael C. Johnson
AUSTIN, Texas – For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, Christopher Bell has won back-to-back races, claiming victory in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA). After securing a win at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 23, Bell had COTA circled as another opportunity to visit Victory Lane—and he delivered in spectacular fashion.
Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Bell, driving the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, wrestled the lead from Kyle Busch with six laps to go and held off a hard-charging William Byron to cross the finish line 0.433 seconds ahead. The victory marks Bell’s first win at the 2.4-mile, 17-turn Texas road course and the 11th Cup Series win of his career.
“I pride myself on racing respectful, and I feel like my image around the garage is respected in that aspect,” Bell said post-race. “William repaid that today. He ran extremely hard, but fair and clean. We saw a heck of a race out of it.”
Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Byron, the defending race winner, finished second for the second time in three races this season. Pole winner Tyler Reddick secured third, while Chase Elliott overcame a first-lap spin and a broken toe link to finish fourth. Busch, who led a race-high 42 laps, faded to fifth on the final lap after contact with Bell drained the strength from his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
Having pitted two laps earlier than Bell during the final green-flag cycle, Busch had built a commanding lead, holding a 2.6-second gap over Byron and a four-second advantage over Bell on Lap 78. However, an ill-timed caution caused by Denny Hamlin’s spin into Austin Dillon’s Chevrolet eliminated that lead.
Photo by Michael C. Johnson
Busch maintained control on the restart on Lap 83, but Bell had fresher tires and, ultimately, the superior car. With a run off Turn 20 on Lap 90, Bell took the lead just before the start/finish line. Byron followed into second at the top of Turn 1 on Lap 91, with Reddick slotting into third soon after.
Busch lamented both the late caution and the toll of worn tires. “I did everything I could to screw up so that Bell could dump me,” Busch said. “The tires were gone. There was nothing I could do to hang on.”
Photo by Michael C. Johnson
For Bell, the win was both validation and redemption. Last year, despite having a fast car, multiple wins slipped away. Now, he has captured two victories in three races, making him the first driver to accomplish that feat since Kevin Harvick in 2018.
“I don’t really have a message to send to my competitors, but it’s nice to capitalize on race wins,” Bell said. “Last year, there were so many race wins that got away whenever I had the fastest car. The last two weeks, I kind of won without the fastest car, so it’s really nice to get those back.”
Photo by Michael C. Johnson
The race featured a record-breaking 20 lead changes, a testament to the competition on display. Beyond the top five, Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher, Noah Gragson, Alex Bowman, and Todd Gilliland rounded out the top ten.
Elliott, who fell to the back of the pack after being spun by Ross Chastain on Lap 1, managed to claw his way back into contention thanks to strategic calls from crew chief Alan Gustafson. Fresh tires on the final caution helped him rally to fourth.
One of the more dramatic moments of the race occurred on Lap 50, when 18-year-old Connor Zilisch’s Cup debut came to a violent end. His Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suárez lost control in Turn 19, spinning into Zilisch’s path and sending him crashing into the SAFER barrier. The incident ended Zilisch’s promising run, which had seen him recover from a Lap 1 incident to battle back into the top 15 before the wreck.
Photo by Michael C. Johnson
The Next Gen car’s parity has made consecutive victories rare in recent seasons, with Bell becoming the first driver to go back-to-back in more than a year. When asked about this trend, Bell pointed to the evolving NASCAR schedule and increased competition.
“With the superspeedway stuff and the Next Gen car really leveling the playing field, there’s a lot of competitive cars now,” Bell explained. “Back in the day, there was the ‘Big Three’—Kyle, Martin [Truex Jr.], and Harvick. Now, winning has certainly become harder. More guys are capable of it.”
Bell’s confidence is soaring as the series heads to Phoenix and Las Vegas—two tracks where Joe Gibbs Racing has historically performed well.
“It’s amazing to be sitting here with more importantly than two wins, ten playoff bonus points,” Bell said. “We’re in a pretty good spot right now.”
With Bell hitting his stride early in the season, his competitors now have to contend with a driver whose confidence and execution are peaking. If Bell’s recent performance is any indication, the No. 20 team is only getting started.
Interviews:
NASCAR Cup Series Race Winning Driver Christopher Bell (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) –
NASCAR Cup Series Race Winning Crew Chief, Adam Stevens; and Owner, Joe Gibbs (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) –
NASCAR Cup Series Race – EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix
Circuit of The Americas
Austin, Texas
Sunday, March 2, 2025
1. (19) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 95.
2. (15) William Byron, Chevrolet, 95.
3. (1) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 95.
4. (3) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 95.
5. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 95.
6. (6) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 95.
7. (24) Chris Buescher, Ford, 95.
8. (17) Noah Gragson, Ford, 95.
9. (21) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 95.
10. (10) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 95.
11. (16) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 95.
12. (9) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 95.
13. (4) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 95.
14. (18) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 95.
15. (26) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 95.
16. (29) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 95.
17. (31) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 95.
18. (22) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 95.
19. (25) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 95.
20. (2) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 95.
21. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 95.
22. (33) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 95.
23. (30) Cole Custer, Ford, 95.
24. (23) Joey Logano, Ford, 95.
25. (36) Austin Cindric, Ford, 95.
26. (35) Josh Berry, Ford, 95.
27. (32) Erik Jones, Toyota, 95.
28. (34) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 95.
29. (20) Zane Smith, Ford, 95.
30. (12) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 95.
31. (37) Cody Ware, Ford, 95.
32. (7) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 95.
33. (28) Ryan Preece, Ford, 95.
34. (13) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 95.
35. (27) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 80.
36. (5) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, Accident, 50.
37. (14) Connor Zilisch(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 49.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 73.025 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 7 Mins, 20 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.433 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 15 laps.
Lead Changes: 20 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Reddick 1-8;S. Van Gisbergen # 9-17;T. Reddick 18;B. Wallace 19-22;S. Van Gisbergen # 23-24;K. Busch 25;S. Van Gisbergen # 26;K. Busch 27-34;S. Van Gisbergen # 35-42;A. Allmendinger 43;R. Preece 44-46;M. McDowell 47-49;K. Busch 50-53;A. Allmendinger 54;K. Busch 55-68;C. Bell 69-70;S. Van Gisbergen # 71-73;K. Busch 74-81;W. Byron 82;K. Busch 83-89;C. Bell 90-95.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Busch 6 times for 42 laps; Shane Van Gisbergen # 5 times for 23 laps; Tyler Reddick 2 times for 9 laps; Christopher Bell 2 times for 8 laps; Bubba Wallace 1 time for 4 laps; Ryan Preece 1 time for 3 laps; Michael McDowell 1 time for 3 laps; AJ Allmendinger 2 times for 2 laps; William Byron 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 23,22,88,8,9,45,5,99,24,16
Stage #2 Top Ten: 60,12,71,8,88,16,24,23,20,99
