NASCAR: Championship drivers Larson and Bell Q&A

NASCAR Championship Playoff Drivers Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell met with the media in Phoenix on Thursday

Kyle Larson

No other racing this week. Usually you’re —

KYLE LARSON: Antsy? No, it’s a short week. Yeah, I mean, it was really short. Monday was normal. Tuesday we had Halloween. Flew out here early yesterday morning.

No, not antsy at all. There’s weeks that I go throughout the year where I don’t race, so… Yeah, nothing out of the ordinary.

You’ve been in championship pressure situations before. Is this normal? Anything different about this time?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. I don’t remember feeling like overly anticipated the last time I was in the Final 4. I feel pretty calm, neutral. I feel like I typically am about most things. Right now I’m calm and all that.

I think as you get closer to the race, I remember that’s when the nerves kind of pick up. Driver intros, stuff around that, I think that’s when I remember the nerves kind of kicking in.

I imagine it will probably be the same this weekend.

With Hendrick, is it championship or bust? Is it get to here or bust?

KYLE LARSON: I’m not sure. I think a company like Hendrick Motorsports, Hendrick Automotive Group, I think Rick wants to win at everything he does. I think all the people in place, too, have the same goals in mind of dominating whatever they’re in.

Yeah, I think every team in the garage area strives to win the championship. I’m not sure if it’s this or bust. You just try to put in the work to get yourself in this opportunity. Hopefully you prepared yourself well enough to try and win the championship.

When you talk about the nerves, where do you feel the nerves?

KYLE LARSON: I wouldn’t say nervous, but nerves. I just remember the atmosphere being, like, incredible. Too, I think me being a West Coast guy, I just felt like the crowd was really behind me before the race two years ago. I just thought it was a really cool atmosphere.

I just remember getting kind of butterflies and getting almost like emotional knowing the size of the race that was upcoming, what it would mean to my career and all that.

Yeah, I think feeling that atmosphere again on Sunday will probably be fun. Then once you strap in, though, once you strap in the car and roll off, you kind of get at peace with everything again.

Other athletes would look at what you guys do and think Super Bowl quarterback is not meeting with sponsors or people on pit road 10 minutes before they go out on the field. You’re doing it going out to the car. What is that like in such a big moment? Is it good to be distracted in a way?

KYLE LARSON: No, I mean, I would love to not have to do anything on race day, honestly. But I think you know, at least with our sport, you understand that with being in the Final 4, there’s more obligations that come with it.

My Sunday will be the busiest Sunday I have all year. Definitely the earliest morning with most appearances. Like I said, I wish I didn’t have to do any of that, but it just worked out that way.

I think, like you said, we do it throughout the year so you kind of know how to stay focused within all that. I remember a couple years ago I had a lot to do, as well. It will be fine. We’ll be focused when it comes race time.

As you go between different things, are you thinking about the race, or you’re getting whipped around?

KYLE LARSON: I guess the upside to having so many obligations on race day is it does keep your mind off of the race, what could go good, what could go bad, what is my car like. I think all the things that can creep into your mind…

I think what I remember from 2021 when I had a lot of stuff to do, you’re doing all this stuff, then, boom, you have to get dressed to do driver intros. I like that because the morning goes by quicker where you’re not just sitting around thinking about things, overthinking things.

Daylight savings being different out here.

KYLE LARSON: But the time doesn’t change in Arizona.

Instead of three hours off, you’re two hours off all of a sudden.

KYLE LARSON: The time doesn’t change here. I’m glad that we’re here because then you don’t have to reset alarms and stuff like that. You can actually get better sleep I feel like. I feel when you’re in North Carolina or anywhere else besides Arizona, you have something to do the next day, you don’t sleep very good the night before because you don’t know if you’re going to sleep through your alarm or whatever.

Yeah, it’s fine.

You have experience. Some of these guys don’t have as much experience. How much is mental toughness?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, although a couple of ’em haven’t been in the Final 4 before, it’s no big deal really. I mean, we’ve all been a part of this race our whole careers, even though we may not have been in the Final 4, we’ve been a part of the event. You kind of get a sense for what the style of race is for those four guys. You see them doing their championship Media Day stuff.

At least from I remember in 2021, nothing was, like, surprising or anything like that. I don’t think it matters if you’ve been in zero times or every year. It doesn’t matter to me. I don’t think it matters. I mean, I think we’re all pretty similar people. I don’t think it matters to any of us.

You’re good at not flipping out.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, but like I said, I think we all are, so… Yeah, I don’t know if that answers your question, but I don’t think it’s a big deal that some of them have never been in it.

It is a lot, but you have dealt with it your whole career, a lot of attention. You just race Phoenix like you’re pretty much used to racing Phoenix.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, that’s the plan, at least for me. Yeah, I’m just excited. I think we’re all excited to get on the racetrack, get practice tomorrow, kind of get a glimpse of how the weekend might go.

You didn’t win the spring race but led a lot of laps. Does that matter now?

KYLE LARSON: Well, I mean, sure, it always matters. I’d rather come in here leading the most laps in the spring than leading no laps in the spring. I think that gives some confidence.

But at the same point, the sport evolves, teams evolve, setups evolve. It could be a different race. I think we have a different tire this time around.

Yeah, it’s hard to say. I think our team has done — out of the Chevy camp, our team has done the best on short tracks this year. I think we have a little bit more confidence than we would have had we been in the Final 4 last year.

But, yeah, it’s tough. It’s all four of us are really good, drive for really good teams, have great individual teams. It’s hard to predict who could do the best.

With the new tire, how predictable is…

KYLE LARSON: Well, New Hampshire is nothing like this place. I just remember not feeling like I had very much grip at all in New Hampshire. All of us kind of struggled. I don’t even remember who won. Truex maybe. He was really, really good, yeah.

But yeah, I don’t know. I think, like I said, we’re probably all excited to get on track on Friday and get an idea how our weekend will be.

Confidence, maybe it’s confidence. One thing that I see, it’s really probably right, is that you’re not underestimating any of the competitors. It’s clear you’re not doing that.

KYLE LARSON: No, no. I mean, I think all four of us, there’s definitely a number of guys that didn’t make the Final 4 that are deserving of being in this position. Yeah, I think you can make a case for any of us four to win the championship.

Yeah, I think we all respect each other on the racetrack. We all respect each other’s abilities, teams’ abilities. Yeah, it should be a fun race. Obviously I would love to come out on top, but I also understand it will be tough. Everybody’s going to have a shot.

(No microphone.)

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, I think it could continue for sure. I mean, stats say it should. But I think in the Next Gen era, it’s a little bit more open I think to win. Like Blaney could have won, should have won last year probably. He did a good job kind of protecting his teammate.

I think at least from what I remember from the other years with the previous cars, the best cars wins the race, and that guy’s the champion.

The Next Gen stuff, there’s so much parity within the cars and teams that more people have a shot to win on Sunday.

Do you think the success you’ve had the last couple years that people expect you to win this championship?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. You’d have to ask those people, so… I’m not really sure.

I look at the odds.

KYLE LARSON: Really?

You’re the favorite.

KYLE LARSON: I haven’t seen the odds. I heard that the odds were close.

I don’t know.

Does it matter?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t think it matters, no, no. I definitely don’t think it matters. I mean, sure, yeah, we’ve done a great job the last few seasons, but when it comes down to one race, it’s hard to close that out sometimes.

I’m confident in our race team that we can. I’m not overly confident, though, because I understand how tough all these teams are.

Do you think the four that are in, it’s four equals? You don’t have an outlier that snuck in?

KYLE LARSON: No. I mean, I think you can make a case for all of us on why each of us could or should be the champion. I mean, obviously you look at, like, recent speed and stuff, Blaney probably to me stands out to be the best.

If I was setting odds, I would put him as the favorite potentially. Again, not by much. I think we’re all four pretty equal. It should be a really good race. I think whoever wins on Sunday is a very deserving champion.

Do you treat this the night before any differently than any other race? Do you go about the preparation differently?

KYLE LARSON: No, not really. I mean, it’s a little bit more chaotic, honestly, this week, I think probably for all of us. Maybe we’ll all treat Saturday differently.

I’ve got a lot of friends coming in, family. We’re cooking out at the house after practice tomorrow. Then Saturday we’ll get dinner and probably just lay a little bit more low then. That will be normal, I guess.

Cooper was up at, like, 4:50 this morning local. I would love for Katelyn to take him to a different room maybe on Saturday night or Sunday morning (smiling). I’m nervous about that conversation, so…

But, no, yeah, I think you can’t, at least the way I approach it, you don’t want to treat this week much different than a typical week to get your flow of things off.

How old is Cooper now?

KYLE LARSON: Ten months.

Is there any advantage that you bring into it as a former champion that these other guys don’t have?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I don’t view us having a leg up on the others because we have a championship at all. It was a couple years ago. It’s a totally different race car. Pit stops are different. The race is different. It’s all different.

Yeah, like I’ve been saying, I think all of us have a fairly equal shot. I came into the Championship 4 a couple years ago with no experience in the Round of 4. Really had only been in the Round of 8 one other time before then.

It does not make a difference. I think if your team executes right, any of us can win.

What needs to go right for you on Sunday to win the championship?

KYLE LARSON: I think full first stop, you need to have speed in your race car. I think a lot like we did in 2021, obviously I would love to have the fastest car and just dominate, but I think you just got to keep yourself in contention.

If things aren’t going perfectly or you’re not leading the race with 40 or 50 to go, don’t lose hope. I think just continue to plug away and something may change the race. Just be in contention to let your team kind of pick you guys up. Like I said, a like lot what happened in 2021. We were running fourth. I was losing hope. We had a caution, had a chance for a pit stop, and the rest is history.

Yeah, I think just keeping yourself in contention, just doing the best job you can. Whatever results come, just be proud of that.

(Question about qualifying.)

KYLE LARSON: I think qualifying is important for any race. Had I not qualified on pole in ’21, got the first pit stall, maybe I would give you a different answer like, It doesn’t really matter that much.

After being in that number one pit stall here in Phoenix, I understand how important that stall is. Yeah, we put a big emphasis on qualifying and would love to qualify good.

(Question about racing Christopher.)

KYLE LARSON: I mean, Christopher is just a guy you can never count out. He’s proven that in the NASCAR stuff of Homestead, for instance, like not even being anywhere in the picture, then here he comes out of nowhere and wins the race.

He’s done a really good job, him and his team have, of being able to capitalize on things, executing the ends of the races really well and closing them out.

Yeah, he does a lot more than that really good, as well. It’s cool to see another dirt guy run as good as him, have another dirt guy in the Final 4.

What sort of X factor are you bringing this weekend that the others maybe don’t have?

KYLE LARSON: X factor? I don’t know. I mean, I think we’re all pretty equal, so… I think you don’t get to this point (temporary loss of audio on recording). I think on paper it would show our raw speed maybe, maybe our X factor.

For one race, I don’t really know that that matters. I haven’t looked at kind of how we rank on short tracks compared to other tracks. Our speed’s been good at most of these places.

Experience of a championship, you have that, right?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t think that matters, no.

How closely are you and William working? Is it just kind of business as usual at Hendrick, or are you two chatting a little bit more maybe than you would normally?

KYLE LARSON: I mean, for us, I think it’s been pretty typical. Like, I don’t know anything about my race car. I don’t think he knows anything about his race car. We can’t, like, chat about setup stuff or anything like that.

I think our teams, I would assume, work really well together, like they do every week. Our offices are right next to each other at the shop, all that.

I don’t think anything changes on that side of things. We’ll all practice tomorrow, have our debrief. Everything just goes as normal. Me being in this position now a couple times, from 2021 and all that, we all work together the same way then as we did all season long. Nothing has changed this time around, either.

Byron said you were a really good teammate to work with, very open. Talk about the dynamic coming into this race.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, no, I mean, I appreciate hearing that. I try hard to be a really good teammate. I feel like I don’t have to try hard. I’m just pretty open with how I am as a person.

Yeah, I do think, though, William and I are a lot alike. I think we’re both an open book to our teams in the debriefs and stuff. I think that’s important to have that type of leadership maybe to just talk really in-depth about our race weekend and our cars and all that.

I think William and I have a very similar driving style. I think when I look at our data, I feel like we throttle, brake, steering, all that looks really similar. I don’t know if our cars are very similar setup-wise or what. Driving style-wise we look a lot alike. I think that helps us talk about things and really latch onto what we’re saying and learn from what we’re telling each other.

You’re pretty relaxed. Are you amped up at all internally coming in here? How do you prep for this week?

KYLE LARSON: I’m not, like, overly amped. I’m obviously, like, super happy to be in this opportunity. This is just a really awesome opportunity to have a chance to race for another Cup Series championship. I look at it more that way. Win, lose or draw, this is a cool opportunity to be in. I hope to capitalize on it.

Yeah, I’m just excited for the moment and ready for the race this weekend. I know our team has prepped really hard. I have a lot of confidence in Cliff and his leadership. Everybody is going to be prepared for Sunday’s race.

Yeah, I don’t know, I don’t feel any more excited than I did for Martinsville. It’s another race that I want to win. It means more, but I think us and the 5 team, all of us, are just ready to hit the track.

(Question about multiple championships.)

KYLE LARSON: I guess for active guys, I’d be. Yeah, that part of it is really cool, too. I think, like I’ve said before, I didn’t really expect to win one. Winning one was amazing, a dream come true.

I didn’t ever dream of winning, like, multiple championships. But, yes, I think now that I have this opportunity in front of me, yeah, for sure I want to win another one and get further up the history list, I guess, of accomplishments.

So, yeah, we’ll just give it our best effort this weekend. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.

This season it’s been evident that you go all out to try to finish the race.

KYLE LARSON: Ricky Bobby, like first or last (laughter).

What is the mindset going into this championship Sunday? You have experience of being a champion. How do you find that happy medium of pushing it but not too hard to the point where you wreck your car?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, no, I mean, I think my mindset for this weekend is just to try — obviously you want to be the fastest, lead every lap, dominate. You really just keep yourself in contention.

If things aren’t going right, you just never know what’s going to happen in these NASCAR races. You can get some late restarts and craziness happens.

Just keep yourself in contention, maybe you’ll have a shot to capitalize on the chaos, if there is late restarts and stuff like that. Yeah, you do a little bit better job at kind of closing out and finishing the race, just leaving yourself an opportunity.

Obviously past champion. What went right for you a couple years ago? Your pit crew helped you. What are some metrics that you hope to repeat?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, kind of a lot of what I just mentioned. The race then wasn’t going perfectly for us. We were running fourth of the four guys with 40 laps left in the race, which isn’t very long. Just don’t lose hope I think in those moments. Know if a caution comes out or something happens, like I said, just keeping myself in contention to leave our team an opportunity to capitalize and give ourself as better shot to win.

Our team has proven that we can do a good job at the ends of the races. Like I said, just got to stay in contention and hopefully have a shot.

What is your expectation of the rest of the field? How aware do you have to be of guys, last race of the year, last opportunity? How aware are you?

KYLE LARSON: I think having experience in the Final 4 and out of the Final 4, there’s more respect given to the guys in the Final 4, for sure, without hurting your race majorly.

Yeah, everybody is out there racing for something. That’s I think what we have to understand, as well. We’re not the only four cars on the racetrack.

Points are tight, down to 30th. A guy in 30th might think he can get to 29th and it will make a big difference for their team. Yeah, I think there’s more respect, for sure, I think for the field, for us four in the final race. But, yeah, there also is a checkered flag out there to be accomplished, a trophy out there to be taken home, a race trophy.

Yeah, teams are still going to be pushing for that. I mean, try not to make people mad throughout the year so you have a little more friends.

You’re only one of the four to have a championship. What extra edge does that give you?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t think it really means anything. I think when I won the championship in ’21, it was totally different race car, the style of race was different, pit stops were different, the way you executed the race was different. I don’t really think it matters at all.

Yeah, I kind of view us all as equals. Even the guys who are in the Final 4 for the first time, I don’t look at them any differently than myself or Bell who have been in the Final 4 twice. I think it’s anybody’s kind of race.

The opportunity to be here, having a chance to win a championship. When you look at your season, you have been battle-tested this year, does it feel more satisfying to be back here compared to ’21?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, I think it’s satisfying, for sure. I think I probably speak for our whole team that it’s, yeah, great to have this opportunity to try to accomplish what we did a couple years ago.

I honestly look at last year. Last year was kind of eye-opening to me. Last year felt like a terrible year. Minus that mistake at Charlotte, we were still going to be in the Final 4. We were three points away from the Final 4 as a driver. Our team made it to the Final 4, and it felt like a terrible season.

That opened my eyes to, like, our team is so good and our cars are so fast, I think just clean it up a little bit, we can make it again. I think I just cleaned it up just a little bit, and we made it again. I think if we continue to do that, we should be a force each and every year.

Just excited for the opportunity. Kind of blessed to be racing for a championship at the highest form of American auto racing.

You put a lot on yourself, you look internally, I’m not going to blame the team?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah. I rarely blame the team about anything. Most time it is me. It’s easy to not blame anybody else but myself.

Yeah, I think I’m pretty — I don’t know if hard on myself is the right word. I just kind of hold myself to a higher standard than what I show sometimes on the racetrack.

Yeah, I just do a lot of self-reflecting and try to be better from it.

Almost feels like it’s a tale of two seasons. The speed was there, but the finishes were inconsistent. This season, you were right in form. You take out Homestead, you haven’t stumbled.

KYLE LARSON: No, no, I don’t think so. Yeah, no, we’ve been pretty much pretty good. So the first round was really good. The second round was probably our worst round for speed, but we were able to do a good enough job in the stages and stuff to kind of propel us through that round.

Yeah, Vegas we put together a really good race, executed really well with not having the best race car in the field. Homestead, I think had I not had that win, I probably would have played the race out differently. I think we still would have finished probably in the top two or three at that race, then had enough points at Martinsville to point ourselves in.

Yeah, no, we’ve done a good job for sure in the Playoffs. As Cliff said, we’ve been battle-tested throughout the regular year, so we’re kind of ready for the Playoffs, whatever may arise and come at us.

It was a tough season to this point, and you would love to cap it off with a championship.

You’ve been the best on pit road all season. What makes pit road so difficult? What has the preparation been like?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, no, pit road, there’s a lot of opportunity on a pit road with a corner. Phoenix has a long corner, pit road. There’s a lot of opportunities to maximize your speeds and stuff. The pit stalls are really slick. Hitting your signs consistently is important, all that.

Getting the number one pit stall would be very important and a key to winning I think on Sunday. Yeah, we’ll put a lot of emphasis on qualifying. Like you said, my pit crew has been so good all year. I have a lot of confidence in them to put down a good stop when it matters most, and hopefully we can win.

What would it mean to bring another championship for Rick and Jeff?

KYLE LARSON: I think it would be great. Obviously trying to get Rick his 15th championship in 39 years I think is pretty amazing. Leading into the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports next year would be great.

Yeah, no, it’s just fortunate to be racing for an amazing race team with amazing people. Would love to do our best to try and make them proud.

How are you feeling for this week?

KYLE LARSON: I feel fine. I don’t feel overly confident. I think all of us kind of have an equal opportunity to win.

So, yeah, just going to be fun. I’m just looking forward to getting on track tomorrow and getting a better idea kind of how the weekend will play out.

Q. We’re witnessing a change of the guard with you being the oldest among the four in the championship?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I don’t know. It’s odd. I’m the oldest at Hendrick Motorsports, the oldest in this Final 4. Maybe I am getting old. I don’t feel old.

No, yeah, I don’t know, the sport’s gotten to a place where a lot of the guys who have been in it now for a couple decades, with Harvick retiring this weekend, Aric Almirola has been a part of the sport for a long time. I think there’s a lot of young talent that I guess they’re getting a little bit older now and gaining that experience, they’re with really good race teams, can go perform.

Christopher Bell

Q. What is so special about your over-the-wall guys that gives you the confidence they can pull through and make it happen?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, my pit crew has done really good. The crew, the team, the people that I have on this 20 car right now, they’re on the 54 car through the regular season. I don’t know if they still have the record, but at one point they set the record for the fastest pit stop. Yeah, we’ve got a good group right now.

Q. How has this week been for you?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Much more relaxed than last year, for sure. Just having that extra time to prepare has been really good. Last week, I don’t know, I feel like last week we did a lot of our homework, then this week was just kind of relaxing and preparing, relaxing and taking it easy.

I’m ready.

Q. What were you able to do this time that you weren’t able to do last year?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: I don’t think we didn’t get to accomplish anything last year in our short preparation time, but everything just felt crammed and rushed, where now winning at Homestead allowed us to just be a little bit more methodical.

I’m sure it helps Adam and my engineers make more educated decisions on what we’re going to put inside this Phoenix car as far as the setup.

Yeah, just had a lot more time and not the hectic, like, Man, we just won at Martinsville, now we need to hurry up and think about what we’re going to do in Phoenix. That type of deal.

Q. You’ve been in the Championship 4 in all of the three series. How have you noticed or have you noticed a difference in the way the Championship 4 are raced in those series?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: That’s a great question.

I don’t really know that I’ve noticed a difference. I don’t know. You have me a little bit stumped. I guess that means nothing stands out between the three series.

Yeah, so…

Q. The Championship 4 drivers, is there anything courtesy…

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Certainly I think you get breaks. I’m trying to think if it was different through the Truck and Xfinity Series than what I experienced last year. I really don’t think it was.

The biggest thing was last year in the Cup Series, having three teammates that are really, really competitive, and they probably cut me more breaks than the rest of the field.

I remember in the Truck Series, whenever I made the Final 4, Gragson was my teammate and he raced me really respectful, too.

I don’t think anything stands out or anything is much different between the three series.

Q. The interesting thing is in Cup, since the Championship 4 was instituted in 2016, from there through 2022 you’ve had two situations in Cup where the top four finishes 1-2-3-4, but you’ve never had that in Xfinity and Truck.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: That is strange. Well, certainly whenever I won my championship in ’17, I didn’t win the race. Then, yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know why that is. I don’t know why that is.

Q. (Question about experience in the Championship 4.)

CHRISTOPHER BELL: No, I don’t think so. I think last year I was in the same mindset as I was this year. Certainly having more experience probably helps keep the nerves down a little bit more. I think they’re going to be just fine.

Q. Adam Stevens, you guys have worked together, has it changed at all since you first started?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, I think it has, just from getting together in 2021. I was so unproven in the Cup Series that I think it probably took a couple good runs and myself proving to him what I’m capable of.

I think our relationship now is as strong as it ever has been. It’s just a matter of having trust in each other. I think that we’ve just gotten more and more trust in each other as we’ve gotten better and proven to each other that if he gives me a good car, I can drive it good. Yeah, same back to him.

Q. I wanted to ask you about Jason Ratcliff. Coming up on his last crew chief start in the Xfinity Series. He was part of your career coming along. What was your relationship like with him? What did he mean to your career?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, Jason was amazing. Even to this day, I feel so bad for Jason and the hand he was dealt going into 2020 with everything that happened. Fortunately I got a mulligan year. I was able to get a second opportunity at Joe Gibbs Racing and he didn’t.

He was an amazing crew chief and helped build me to where I am. He did not get a fair hand whenever we went Cup racing in 2020.

Q. What about having him staying with the company? Sounds like he’s going to be a mentor to the other series.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, he’s one of the best to ever do it. Having him around is going to be very critical. Anyone who is young and in the crew chief role would be wise to speak to him.

Q. There are four drivers in this championship, but one of them is Larson. You and he have raced against each other for a number of important races and championships. Is this sort of the culmination of an expectation that either we or you might have had?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Well, I hope we’re able to do this for many years into the future.

Yeah, I guess I hope that we’re able to do this many more times. It certainly is not the first.

Q. How would you evaluate the group of the four of you overall? Seems like the four of you race pretty well together. Not too much bad blood.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, we definitely have a good, respectful group that I guess doesn’t have any history of having wrecks or anything like that. So that’s good.

But I honestly think it’s a great Final 4. It’s definitely Next Gen. Probably the Final 4 that you wouldn’t have seen five years ago.

Q. In terms of Next Gen, I don’t think Toyota has led a lap at Phoenix since the new car.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: That’s not a good stat (smiling).

It’s funny because my statistics have sucked at Phoenix since I’ve gotten into the Cup Series. Before I got into the Cup Series, I would have said it’s one of if not my best racetrack through Trucks and Xfinity.

The Cup stuff, it took a little bit to get going. 2020, I mentioned Ratcliff, it wasn’t fair because we didn’t have — I guess we did have practice. I don’t know if we did in the fall of 2020. But anyway, the Next Gen car was certainly a reset for everybody.

The spring race of 2022, we were absolutely terrible. Then the fall race in 2022, we were better, not great, but better. In the spring of 2023, we were pretty competitive. We didn’t lead a lap, I guess, but I remember myself and Denny were inside the top five the majority of the day.

We’ve made gains on it every single time. I have no reason to think that we wouldn’t be better yet this time.

Q. How significant do you think it’s going to be without the treatment they’ve had here in the past few years?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: I think it’s going to be similar to what we had in the spring, except they did treat turns three and four, which made it get a little bit wider there. Maybe the top doesn’t come into play as much in three and four, but I think it still will in one and two. But it’s not going to be dominant.

I think they’ve had a really good track preparation plan going into place here by not touching it. I think it will race really good.

Q. Will the weather help? Predicted to be 89 on race day.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: I don’t know that it will change much. Normally it’s at least in the 80s or upper 70s. I don’t think the weather’s going to come into play.

Q. In terms of preparing, how important is having that breather to prep and get ready for this one at Martinsville?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Martinsville really turned into practice for myself and my pit crew to make sure that we can execute. They’re going to have a big, big role in the race outcome on Sunday.

Q. Not a lot of Championship 4 history in this group. You got to the Final 4 last year. You have the most experience overall between all the different series among these guys. Does all that experience in the Championship 4 bode well for you?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: I think it helps. I don’t think it’s a big advantage, but I do think it helps. I think it helps manage emotions and nerves going into Sunday.

I have been really fortunate. I think six of my eight years I made the Final 4 in my NASCAR full-time career. So that’s really cool. But everyone’s going to be competitive.

Maybe I have a slight advantage of managing nerves, but maybe I don’t.

Q. (Question about the Monday meeting.)

CHRISTOPHER BELL: It was unique.

Q. What type of vibe did you get coming out of the meeting? We’re ready for the championship or we need a couple more days to get through what we went through at Martinsville?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, it was strange. Obviously the 20 group, this goes back to Homestead, too, because it stemmed at Homestead. The 20 group is all smiles and cheers, hoorahs. The other teams are not obviously (smiling).

So, yeah, the last two Mondays have been just very mixed emotion in the room. I just need to win. Need to win and bring a championship back.

Q. Do you think having somebody like Adam Stevens, who has the respect of everybody in that room, helps feel like we got to get behind…

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, I mean, I think that he has the respect from everyone in the company, and probably everyone in the industry. I don’t know. He doesn’t speak much in our competition meetings. He lays low, and I respect that of him. He certainly goes about it his own way. I don’t know. I think we’re ready, though.

Q. Is it hard to be happy for you?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: It’s not hard for me to be happy. But Joe, I’m sure Joe is probably I’m sure disappointed. He had three opportunities to win the championship. I’m sure that he thought, especially starting the Round of 8, he had two of ’em above the cut line, and I was the one below the cut line.

I think that he probably expected to have more in the Final 4 than just one. Whenever Homestead happened and we had two mechanical problems, I think that was a really big downer for him.

I think on Sunday he’s going to be all in on the 20 car trying to win the race and a championship.

Q. Versus how you sit here today having won two weeks ago to get in, how is the confidence going into this one than last year?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Just much more relaxed. I feel more prepared just because of the time that we’ve had to get ready for this moment compared to last year being so far beneath the cut line, being in a must-win going into Martinsville. We didn’t even talk about Phoenix until we left Martinsville. Now we’ve had two solid weeks to game plan what we’re going to do in practice, how we’re going to execute qualifying.

Just feel much more prepared.

Q. In any other professional sport, championship game, they’re not having to deal with sponsors or people on pit road right before they get in the car. You’re used to it. Just of the idea of being so close to the start of an event, then having other people around, not being able to be in a locker room like a football team.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: It’s just about routine. Thankfully you have a lot of stuff going on throughout the week. My race routine will stay pretty similar.

While we do have sponsor obligations in the morning, pictures by the car right before the race, I do have a period of time before I go out to driver intros where it is just me getting myself in the right mindset to compete in the race.

It’s just part of the job, having to be engaging with people right before the big moment. It’s something that has become normal and part of the routine. It will be the same on Sunday.

Q. How do you do it? When you put yourself in the right frame of mind, about 45 minutes before the engines crank, but you have to do the photos. You have to turn it on and on and off.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, it definitely was tough at first, but now it’s just part of the game. Once you get in the car, I’ll be nervous as can be whenever we get out there pre-race, even taking pictures, I’m always nervous, whether it’s the Daytona 500 or the Bristol dirt race or Loudon or the Phoenix championship race. Once you get in the car and you flip the switch, you crank the engine, I don’t know, it’s always all gone away for me.

For me it’s about routine.

Q. When you say ‘nervous’, what do you mean?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Just, I mean, nerves. I don’t know how to explain it other than that. Just butterflies in your stomach, nervous. You want to do good. My number one fear is doing bad in the race car. I just want it really bad. I want to do good really bad.

Q. (No microphone.)

CHRISTOPHER BELL: It just always has been ever since I was a kid. Whenever I started in this sport, I just never wanted to let my dad down whenever we first started or let my mom down, let my uncle Will down. You start moving up, it’s car owners and sponsors. Now I got a company of 600-plus employees, multi-million dollar sponsors that are all counting on me to do my job, and I don’t want to let them down.

My number one fear is doing bad. Got to do good in this sport (smiling).

Q. Does it heighten your expectations?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Does it heighten my expectations? No, because I expected to win last year and we didn’t win, we came up short. My expectations are the same coming into this year, as well.

Q. Do you feel like people race you differently in this race?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Outside of the Final 4, you do get raced a little bit differently. I think the four of us all race really hard every single week. I wouldn’t expect the four of us to race any differently.

Q. Do you approach this race any differently than last year? What did you learn last year that you can bring into battle this year?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: I learned a lot last year. One thing was we weren’t super competitive last year. We didn’t qualify well. We didn’t practice well. But whenever it came down to the end of the race, we still had an opportunity at it.

I feel like most people, they didn’t see that. At the end of the race the last green-flag pit stop, me and Joey are within a second, I think. I followed him down pit road for the money stop in the championship event with 30 laps to go, however long it was.

With that being said, we weren’t as competitive as we wanted to be, and we were still in the thick of it. This year we will be more competitive. You’re not out of it until the checkered flag falls.

Q. How much of it is mental, a mental game, where you can’t panic? Last year you’re wiser because of it.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, I mean, your mental outlook is a very big part of racing success. That’s a big piece of the puzzle, for sure. So you got to have the right mindset. You got to have the right confidence. You have to know that you can do it.

Q. Without counting points, it will be easier this week or will the pressure of the championship increase more?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: It’s nice that the stages don’t matter. It literally is just all about positioning yourself for the end of the race. I enjoy that aspect of it.

Q. Are we witnessing a changing of the guard?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, I think so. A couple minutes ago I said this is Next Gen. We got Next Gen cars and apparently we got Next Gen drivers, too, so…

It’s a new group.

Q. Byron said that he looks at this group as the guys that are going to go out and dominate for the next decade.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: I hope he’s right.

Q. Any special satisfaction in being the guy representing JGR this week?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, it means a lot to me that I am representing Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s a spot that I’ve wanted to be in for a long time.

I hope that this is year number two of very many in the future. It is special to have a shot to win a championship for Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing.

Q. Talked a lot about last year’s Championship 4 weekend. As far as earlier this year, you raced here, is that applicable?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: It certainly is, yeah. That’s the most real data that we have. Since they introduced the Next Gen car, you can’t throw out 2022, but at the beginning, the spring race, we were bad. I think I was in the teens. Then the fall race, I was about 10th on average ranking. In the spring, I think I was fifth or maybe a little bit better. So we’ve gotten better and better and better.

We’re going to take another step this week. I don’t think any one of us four are going to go out there and just dominate the race. We’re going to be all four very competitive. I think the Final 4 should be more competitive than what it was last year.

Q. Jason announced that he’s retiring after this weekend. You had a lot of success with him. How would you sum up your time with him?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Jason was amazing. I feel so bad for Jason because he’s a great crew chief. He did not get a fair shake whenever we went Cup racing in 2020. Fortunately I got another opportunity, but he didn’t.

Jason is one of the best crew chiefs that I’ve ever gotten to drive for. I wish him nothing but the best.

Q. Had a ton of success at the Xfinity level.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: We did. We would have had a ton of success at the Cup level if we continued our run together.

Q. You’ve been to Arizona quite a few times now. Anything you like to do here?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Eat In-N-Out.

Q. (No microphone.)

CHRISTOPHER BELL: I actually have not yet this weekend. I’ve been trying to eat really clean coming into this week. I don’t know, probably helps this much. I’m saving my In-N-Out trip for Sunday or Monday, depending on how Sunday goes.

Q. (No microphone.)

CHRISTOPHER BELL: That’s a great question. Whataburger doesn’t have the wrap that In-N-Out does, though, so… I like ’em both, though. They’re both good.

Q. Second year here now. What do you do to decompress coming into a weekend like this?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, I mean, I don’t know. I think it’s impossible to be loose coming into such a big event. It’s the nerves that make it that much more special. It’s a big deal. I’m thankful to be a part of it. I would much rather be sitting here being nervous than I would be not being a part of it.

Q. Back up 365 days, how is Christopher Bell different as a driver and person?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Certainly I’m more experienced. That’s a big part of the equation. But the big difference is our cars. I think our cars are tremendously better sitting here November 2023 than they were in November 2022.

Q. Does Joe sit down with each of you or with the team to calm your nerves, give you that coaching?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Joe has his own way of doing it. We were in the competition meeting on Monday. It was very weird because two teams had just failed to qualify for the Final 4, then the 20 team made it.

I don’t know. I’m sure that there will be a speech on Saturday or Sunday. I look forward to it.

Q. You mentioned your car feels a lot better this year. What specifically is better in it? What has made the difference?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: I think it’s just more research and development with the Next Gen car. I’m sure if you ask all of the three guys sitting to my right, they’re going to say the same thing.

Whenever we came to the championship race a year ago, we had one race at Phoenix for notes. Now we have three races for Phoenix notes of just trying to get the setup better, obviously the aerodynamics are better.

Yeah, it’s an improvement that I feel inside the car. I’m sure everyone’s going to say the same thing, but I feel really good about what we have.

Q. You’ve raced against Kyle a majority of your life. What does he bring as a contender for this championship, what you’ve learned racing him?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, so Kyle, his strength is his raw talent, his ability to drive the car. His 100% — or the better way to say it is his 90% is everyone else’s 100%. He’s able to run the car at the ragged edge a lot easier than what the other people can. That’s his strength.

Q. (Question about winning the championship.)

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Perseverance. If we win the championship on Sunday, it’s because of perseverance.

Q. What do you mean by that?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: There were many times when we were down and out. Going back to 2022, even the beginning of 2023, at one point we were leading the points. It completely was starting to crumble in the middle part of the regular season. We lost that chance at a regular-season title. We persevered and put together a great run in the Playoffs to get here.

I’m sure that the Sunday race, nobody is going to go out here and lead 300 laps, 312 laps. It’s going to be a race, a dogfight. Pit road is going to be really important.

The team that executes the best. All four of us are going to make mistakes, and it’s just going to be about who doesn’t do the big mistake or who makes the least amount of mistakes is who is going to win the championship.

Q. You stalk about perseverance, that’s easier said than done. How have you been able to accomplish that?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: I certainly think Adam Stevens, the leader, is kind of the head of the group. But it’s the experience around him, too. Myself being put in those positions. Adam has been put in those positions. Our pit crew, we have a very experienced pit crew that’s going over the wall for us.

Having experience in these moments is what’s going to be key.

Q. Do you feel this is as wide open as it’s been in the Championship 4?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: It certainly feels like we have a very competitive Final 4. Last year was very unique because it was the first championship race with the Next Gen car. We’ve seen before last year the majority of the time the Final 4 are running 1-2-3-4, just kind of leaps and bounds ahead of the field. It didn’t really happen last year.

I would expect it to be more like that, where these four cars are running in the top four positions, certainly in the top five. I think it’s going to be a really good race.

Q. You finished a career-best sixth year in the spring. What have you hit on for Phoenix?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Phoenix has always been one of my best tracks before I got into the Cup series. My Cup stats have not been good. I admit that.

Since the Next Gen car, we’ve improved on it. That first race at Phoenix was not good at all. The fall Phoenix race last year was a little bit better. The spring race was actually pretty good. I know we finished sixth, but the yellow flag came out late. We were certainly going to do better than that.

I have all the confidence that we’re going to make another step.

Q. You said last year’s Phoenix championship was unique. This year is also unique, the youngest Championship 4 in Playoff history. What do you make of that? Is Sunday going to be a pedestal for the youngest talent in NASCAR to shine?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, I mean, I think the young guys are now getting enough experience to showcase their talents. I love the sport because you have guys like Ty Gibbs, I think he just turned 21, and he’s young, and you have guys like Kevin Harvick, who is in his 40s, that are competing against each other. Each of them have their own strengths and weaknesses. That’s fascinating to me. What other sport is that possible in?

What the veterans have is the experience, the ability to know how to put together a Cup race. What the young guy has is typically they’re really fast, they try really hard, they push hard. Their downfall is they crash.

Now that you have young guys with a couple years of experience underneath our belts, you’re seeing that kind of mix, and that’s why we’re here today.

Q. What sort of X factor do you bring to the table that these other three don’t have?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Hopefully mental capability in the race. I’ve always felt like that was my strength, is being able to be smart, know when to push, know when to be smart with the race.

Larson has really good car control and ability to produce lap time. That’s his strength. But I think that my strength is my noggin.

Q. (No microphone.)

CHRISTOPHER BELL: I don’t know. I’m pretty close right now. Well, actually, no, Blaney is older than me.

Q. Larson, too.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Larson.

Q. Two consecutive Championship 4s, at what point are you going to start feeling like…

CHRISTOPHER BELL: I’m getting there. I’m getting there. Certainly Ty coming in. When I came into the sport, I was older than Chase and older than Byron, I’m sure a handful of other ones. I’m getting there. Now we got Ty in there. You had Carson Hocevar is coming up, Zane Smith. The tide is turning.

Q. Anything about Sunday’s race that you’re concerned about, if you don’t win the championship it’s probably because of…

CHRISTOPHER BELL: No. I don’t have anything on the top of my head right now.

Q. What is the mindset for Sunday?

CHRISTOPHER BELL: The mindset is just excited. Excited about the opportunity. Try to persevere. Go out there. All four of us are going to be really competitive. I don’t think there’s going to be a runaway champion. I think it’s going to be a war and you’re going to have to execute on all fronts to win this thing.