HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (March 10, 2025) – We’re just four races into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season and Christopher Bell has already proven to be outrageously dependable.

The driver of the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing has won the last three Cup Series races, becoming the first driver to three-peat since Kyle Larson pulled the hat trick in 2021. More importantly, it’s put Bell in the enviable position of locking up his spot in the 16-driver playoff field five months and 22 races before NASCAR’s version of the post-season starts Aug. 31 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

Logging wins so early in the year allows Bell and his Interstate Batteries team to use the regular season to their benefit. With a playoff berth firmly in their pocket, Bell and crew chief Adam Stevens can be as aggressive as they want to chase even more wins and bolster their playoff points standing.

“With us having multiple wins and knowing that we’re in the playoffs, if there’s a little bit more risky of a move, yeah, it certainly opens up the strategy book,” said Bell, whose three wins this year ties his career-high victory tallies in 2022 and 2024. “You don’t really know how it’s going to play out until you get into the race, but certainly the positions where it’s a little bit more high-risk where you normally wouldn’t take that risk if you’re focused on the regular-season points, well, now we can.”

After getting collected in a multicar crash five laps short of the finish in the season-opening Daytona 500, Bell has been on a tear, scoring back-to-back-to-back wins Feb. 23 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, March 2 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, and last Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

No driver has a better average finish this season than Bell. His average of 8.5 is a half a position better than Daytona 500 winner William Byron (9.0), and two-and-a-half positions better than third-best Tyler Reddick (11.0). It’s an impressive stat in and of itself, but even more so when you consider Bell’s 31^st-place result in the Daytona 500.

“As I’ve gotten more established in the series and as our team has gotten better and better, we expect to be in the playoffs and we expect to win, and now we’re expecting to win multiple races,” said Bell, now in his sixth Cup season with 12 career victories. “So at Vegas, we’re expecting to compete for the win and, hopefully, we can continue to rack ’em up.”

The 30-year-old racer from Norman, Oklahoma, is more than meeting expectations. After competing at two superspeedways in Daytona and Atlanta, a road course at COTA, and a flat, mile-long oval in Phoenix, Bell is ready for the series’ bellwether track – Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“Right now, we’ve got everything we need to contend for a championship and win a lot of races,” Bell said. “We’ve got a great crew chief, great mechanics, great engineers, great pit crew and, hopefully, a great driver. We need to make the most of it.”

The 1.5-mile Las Vegas oval is the first of seven intermediate-style tracks on the Cup Series schedule. Intermediates serve as the bread-and-butter of the calendar, where ovals from 1.3 miles to 2 miles comprise 25 percent of the races. Las Vegas and Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, a sister 1.5-mile oval, host two races apiece, with each of their second races coming in the 10-race playoffs.

“Vegas is a true barometer of the intermediates,” Bell said. “It’s kind of like the last style of track that we haven’t been to yet this season. It’s an important race because you have a lot of points to be gained or lost on the intermediate-style tracks. But what makes Vegas even more important is that it’s in the Round of 8 (of the playoffs). That race, when you come back in the fall, is super important to have a really solid points day and contend for a win. That fall Vegas race is everything, and there’s no better tune up for it than the spring Vegas race.”

Las Vegas has been a strong track for Bell. In 10 career Cup Series starts there, he has earned five top-10 finishes, and in two of his last three Vegas starts, Bell has finished second. In fact, in his most recent race at Las Vegas last October, Bell scored the pole, led four times for a race-high 155 laps, and then finished runner-up to eventual series champion Joey Logano.

“Vegas is probably my best track on the schedule that I haven’t won at,” Bell said. “Between the Truck Series and the Xfinity Series, I’ve led a ton of laps there. Even in the Cup Series I’ve led a lot of laps there, yet still haven’t won. So we’re looking for that first Vegas win, and my first with Interstate Batteries as my primary partner. They’ve been with Joe Gibbs Racing since the beginning, and there’s a lot of pride that comes with carrying their colors. Some great names have won in Interstate Batteries green, and I’d like to add my name to the list. Vegas is a really good racetrack for me, and I know it could come at any time.”

That time is seemingly now. Outrageously dependable, like his primary sponsor, Interstate Batteries, Bell is an excellent bet at Las Vegas. The 267-lap race goes green this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage on FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

About Joe Gibbs Racing:

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is one of the premier organizations in NASCAR with four NASCAR Cup Series teams, four NASCAR Xfinity Series teams, and a driver development program. JGR is based in Huntersville, North Carolina, and owned by 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Joe Gibbs, who also earned his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was named as one of the NFL’s top-10 coaches of all-time with a winning career that included three Super Bowl championships as head coach of the Washington franchise. JGR has competed in NASCAR since 1992, capturing 400 wins over that span. No team has more combined wins across the sport’s three national series in the history of NASCAR. In addition, JGR has won five Cup Series championships along with four Xfinity Series driver championships and six Xfinity Series owners’ championships. The organization also has captured four Daytona 500 titles, considered to be NASCAR’s premier event.

About Interstate Batteries:

For more than 70 years, Interstate Batteries® has powered people down roads, trails and waterways and businesses to succeed. Best known for its starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries, this product has been under car hoods since 1952, each one backed by the company’s service, quality and value. Interstate All Battery Center® provides portable power in both retail and commercial markets. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Interstate Batteries is an industry leader in recycling efforts, as well as a global leader in safe lead handling practices. Guided by a set of common values, the company’s purpose is to glorify God and enrich lives while delivering the most trustworthy source of power to the world. For more information, visit www.InterstateBatteries.com.