Bell pulls out emotional Cup victory at Phoenix Raceway
Christopher Bell and the rest of Joe Gibbs Racing have been through more than their share of heartbreak in the desert.
The unexpected death of the team's vice chairman and owner Joe Gibbs' son happened in Phoenix two years ago. Last fall, a broken brake rotor spoiled Bell's NASCAR Cup Series championship hopes in the Valley of the Sun.
Winning at Phoenix Raceway will never erase the anguish, but it's certainly another step in the healing process.
Bell surged into the lead when Martin Truex Jr. was forced to pit and pulled away for an emotional NASCAR Cup win at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday.
“This one feels really good,” Bell said. “You don't get cars like that very often, as you know. Just super, super proud to be on this 20 car.”
JGR has been through a whirlwind of emotions in Phoenix.
In 2022, hours after Ty Gibbs won an Xfinity season championship for his grandfather's team, vice chairman Coy Gibbs was found dead in his hotel room. Ty's father was 49.
Bell and JGR returned to Phoenix Raceway in November as part of the championship four vying for the Cup Series title. Instead of mending emotions, the team left dejected after Bell's car broke early in the race.
Given another shot, Bell held his emotions in check and the crew gave him the fastest car on a perfect afternoon in the desert that ended with a massive celebration on victory lane.
“It is a little bit cathartic,” Bell's crew chief Adam Stevens said.
Bell led the final 49 laps for his seventh career Cup Series victory — first since Homestead in October.
Bell's win in the No. 20 Toyota also ended Chevrolet's perfect start to the season after winning the first three races. He is the eighth different winner in eight races at Phoenix Raceway's mile tri-oval.
Chris Buescher finished second after being wrecking 27 laps into last week's race in Las Vegas and Ty Gibbs was third for his career-best finish. Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five.
IndyCar
Team Penske silenced recent criticism aimed at series leadership by dominating the IndyCar season-opening race with a Josef Newgarden win from the pole Sunday on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg, Florida
Pato O'Ward of Arrow McLaren Racing broke up the Penske rout with a second-place finish, but Penske drivers Scott McLaughlin and Will Power finished third and fourth. The Penske trio finished ahead of every Andretti Global driver two days after team owner Michael Andretti called on Roger Penske to sell the IndyCar Series if he's not willing to increase his investments in promotion and marketing.
“I think for Roger, the Team Penske and the Penske Entertainment is very separate, and for him, he's got to put those hats on and see the good of the sport,” McLaughlin said. “It's part of owning the series, you think, you're going to get called left, right and center from people upset with your adjustments or what you want from the series.
“You're never going to have it all fine and dandy.”
Colton Herta in fifth was the highest-finishing driver for Andretti, which had a bust of a day with new driver Marcus Ericsson. The former Indianapolis 500 winner lost power midway through the race and finished 25th in the 27-car field. Ericsson was the defending race winner at St. Pete, which celebrated its 20th running of the popular street course event.
Reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou finished sixth for Chip Ganassi Racing and Felix Rosenqvist was seventh in his debut race with Meyer Shank Racing.
Alexander Rossi of McLaren was eighth, while Scott Dixon of Ganassi and Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing rounded out the top 10. Santino Ferrucci was an impressive 11th for A.J. Foyt Racing, which created an alliance with Penske.
The win for Penske is his third season-opening win this year alone. His IMSA sports car team won the Rolex 24 at Daytona and his other sports car team won the WEC opener in Qatar last week.
“As a team, we're stoked. We just put a lot of hard work into the season,” McLaughlin said. “It's just a good team. It's a great business relationship. We're just going to keep winning.”