Christopher Bell slammed into the outside wall during the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway at a force that registered 63-gs, which NASCAR says is the hardest impact recorded since the Next Gen car was brought to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022.
Incredibly, Bell walked away from the crash with just a fractured left wrist.
On Saturday, Bell conducted a media availability, where he discussed the crash, his injury, and his status moving forward. According to Bell, he is fully expecting to complete all 400 miles in Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono.
“The plan is absolutely for me to complete all 400 miles, but we do have a backup plan in place for tomorrow if I am not able to do it,” Bell explained.
Brandon Jones, a full-time NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series racer for Joe Gibbs Racing, will be the backup plan if Bell is unable to compete on Sunday, or has to exit the car for relief during the race. Jones was on hand for every session at the Toyota simulator this week, as the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team prepared for the race.
“He did a great job driving the simulator as well,” Bell added. “I think that it’s either going to be like I’m going to commit to the race and I’m going to do it, or I’m going to be out and just start and ride around until the first yellow. But, as of right now, I’m full commit planning on running 400 miles.”
While he’s carrying a cast on his left arm, Bell continued to reiterate on Saturday how thankful he was to be able to speak to the media at Pocono Raceway a week after his horrific crash.
“I’ve been told that [the crash] was 63 g’s on impact, so I don’t know what the Delta V is, and honestly, it doesn’t matter to me. It was a big one, but I’m just so, so incredibly fortunate and thankful and blessed that my head was okay. To get out of there with just a fractured wrist is pretty immaculate,” Bell stated. “I owe all of the credit to NASCAR and my team for building safe cars.
“I know I said it in my statement earlier, but all of the previous drivers who have paid somewhat of a price to make these cars as safe as they are today, NASCAR from learning from every experience that they’ve had in every moment, every crash; it all paid off, you last Sunday. So, super grateful and I’m looking forward to putting it behind me for sure.”
When asked what medical treatment Bell will undergo this week in order to be able to compete through the race weekend at the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle”, Bell didn’t feel comfortable sharing those details.
“I’m probably not going to disclose that,” Bell said. “I think we have a pretty good plan in place. That’s what I’ll tell you.”
While the injury isn’t comfortable, Bell is comfortable in the plan that he and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team have in place this weekend at Pocono. However, with road courses such as the San Diego Street Course next weekend and Sonoma Raceway, coming up in the next few weeks, Bell says it will ratchet up the difficulty for him, as he’s essentially driving with one hand, currently.
Bell says his status for the road courses will remain a week-to-week situation.
“It’s certainly going to be hard. I’m just going to play it week by week and see how I feel today, and practice at Pocono, and then after the race,” Bell explained. “I have done a couple SIM sessions at San Diego. I mean, I feel like I was able to get through an hour or two in the simulator and do okay. So, I’m thankful that it’s another seven days away. I think certainly it’s going to be a week-to-week thing.”
Regardless, Bell has shown his incredible toughness by simply planning to compete this weekend at Pocono, less than a week removed from the horrible crash. Bell says he has been blown away by the reception from the racing community in the wake of his injury.
“It’s been it’s been incredible, the amount of people that have reached out to me,” Bell said. “This past week, my phone has literally been on fire, and it’s been eye-opening how much love I have received from everybody, all of my competitors throughout the NASCAR garage, all of my peers and coworkers throughout the NASCAR garage, friends and family members, even drivers and competitors that I raced against on the dirt side that have reached out to me. So, it has been surreal to see that.”
Bell also can’t give enough praise to Chase Elliott, the competitor, who lost control of his car at Michigan to cause the incredible impact last weekend.
“I can’t speak highly enough of Chase as well. The moment that he saw me out of the car, he was visibly shaken up and concerned about me,” Bell said. “I appreciate so much his, demeanor and his thoughts of me and he’s reached out several times throughout the week to make sure I’m okay. Obviously, I asked him if he was okay too. He had a big hit as well, but just thankful for all of the love from everybody.”
Bell heads into Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway sitting 10th in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings. The driver will look to put the injury behind him, and forge himself forward in the hopes that he can ultimately claim his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship in November.
