Christopher Bell moving up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2018
Camping World Truck Series playoff contender Christopher Bell is moving up the NASCAR ladder next season.
Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
Bell, who has competed with Kyle Busch Motorsports the past two seasons, will move full-time to the Xfinity Series next season and compete with Joe Gibbs Racing. A car number and crew chief have not yet been set.
“Christopher has proven himself at every level of racing and we are excited to have him run full time in our Xfinity Series program starting in 2018,” said JGR owner, Joe Gibbs.
“He has shown great maturity both on and off the track and we think he is ready for this opportunity. We look forward to watching his continued progress in the sport.”
Bell, 22, is currently the No. 1 seed in the Truck series playoffs and advanced to the championship race last season. He has five victories already this season and a series-high 47 points.
“This has been a tremendous year for me and obviously I remain focused on finishing the Truck Series season strong and hopefully bringing a championship to Kyle, Samantha and everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports,” Bell said.
“I don’t think I could ask for a better place to take the next step in my racing career. I’m already comfortable with everyone at JGR and I think the experience I have with them this year should help me at the start of 2018.”
Before racing on pavement, Bell was crowned the USAC National Midget Champion in 2013 and accumulated 26 feature wins on dirt in 2014, including the Turkey Night Grand Prix Midget race.
He also enjoyed success in Super Late Models, winning prestigious races at New Smyrna Speedway, South Alabama Speedway and Southern National Motorsports Park. He kicked off this season by winning the prestigious Chili Bowl.
“Christopher has been a part of the (Toyota Racing Development) driver development program for many years dating back to his USAC championship in 2013 and he’s certainly been an integral part of our continued success to bring young drivers through the ranks of motorsports,” said TRD president, David Wilson.
“Christopher has been successful in every form of racing and we’re confident that he’ll add his name to the list of drivers to put a Camry in Victory Lane.”
Watch him talk about his new opportunity:
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