It was a foregone conclusion when Erik Jones was officially announced as the driver of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 NASCAR Cup Series car for the 2020 season that Christopher Bell would be running full-time in Leavine Family Racing’s No. 95 ride.
According to a report from Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern, the official announcement of Bell to LFR should come within the next week or two.
.@JoeGibbsRacing is expected to formally announce @CBellRacing to @LFR95 for 2020 in the next week or two, now that @Erik_Jones' extension has been confirmed.
? JGR's deal with Bell is expected to give the team flexibility if it needs to keep him at LFR for '21 or recall him. pic.twitter.com/xxqZFEbYlL
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) September 10, 2019
It appears that out of respect to Jones and his situation that JGR was holding the Bell news back until they could officially announce Jones’ 2020 plans.
In Stern’s report, it states that Bell’s deal with LFR will be for 2020, and will give Joe Gibbs Racing “flexibility” to keep Bell in the No. 95 for the 2021 season, or move him to one of JGR’s four Cup Series cars as it sees fit.
Bell has been a standout in the NASCAR Xfinity Series over the past two seasons for Joe Gibbs Racing. Bell has 14 wins over just 66 starts in the Series, and has appeared ready for the next level since day one in NXS competition.
Bell, is in the thick of the 2019 Xfinity Series championship hunt and he also won the 2017 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship.
