Bell gets first Cup Series victory

DAYTONABEACH, FLA. — Give him good cars and Christopher Bell will win. But in his second race? With a new team?

Bell defied the odds Sunday to earn his first career Cup Series victory — in just his second race since Joe Gibbs Racing pulled him back into its inner circle — to close out an unpredictable week at Daytona International Speedway.

Michael Mcdowell was the surprise Daytona 500 winner, and then Bell earned an earlier-than-expected first trip to victory lane. It’s just the third time in NASCAR history the season’s first two races were won by first-time winners. It was previously done in 1949 and 1950.

The triumphs allow Bell and Mcdowell to notch coveted berths in the 16-driver playoff field.

Bell caught Joey Logano on the Daytona road course for his first victory. Logano had a commanding lead but Bell, on fresher tires, passed him with just over one lap remaining.

“This is one of the highlights of my life,” Bell said. “I’ve prepared my whole life for this moment to race in the Cup Series.”

The Oklahoman, 26, is a longtime Toyota development driver who won 16 Xfinity Series races for Gibbs. But there’s only four Cup seats in the organization, and they were full last season when it was time to move Bell to the big leagues.

He was instead loaned to Leavine Family Racing, and although it was also a Toyota team, the one-car operation wasn’t nearly as strong as the Gibbs group. Team owner Joe Gibbs last summer decided not to renew Erik Jones and instead brought back Bell.

It put the pressure on Bell to deliver, and he did after a rocky opening a week ago. Bell was running at the front of the Daytona 500 pack when he gave Aric Almirola too big of a shove and triggered a 16-car crash on just the 14th lap of NASCAR’S season-opening race.