Christopher Bell has had a great start to his Joe Gibbs Racing career after winning the Daytona road course, the second race of the 2021 Cup Series season.
JGR decided to part ways with Erik Jones and promote their development driver Bell to the No. 20 car. Their decision has paid off early in the season as Bell got his first Cup Series victory.
Speaking after his first victory, Bell said that he will either prove himself to be a quality driver or just go away.
“I knew going to Joe Gibbs Racing that this is my time,” Bell said. “I’m either going to put up or shut up. I’m very grateful for how it’s played out so far between the first two weeks.
“It’s a dream come true to be able to drive for the Coach, have all of our great partners. Those guys are who made it happen. I just want so bad to be in this No. 20 car for the rest of my career. I need to perform well to do that. I just got to stay after it.”
Bell led the last two laps after he passed Joey Logano on the frontstretch chicane.
.@CBellRacing drove the perfect 3.61 miles with everything on the line.
Relive the final lap at the @DAYTONA Road Course. pic.twitter.com/gXK0GCC30x
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 22, 2021
JGR owner Joe Gibbs spoke on how having Bell in the playoffs is a great deal for both the team and the driver.
“It’s a huge deal for us,” Gibbs said. “To have Christopher, everything that he kind of fought through last year and then to come back this year. When you think about it, Christopher got in that car last year and never made a lap and was going to racetracks. It was a lot to overcome. And he did show speed at a number of racetracks.
“It was great for him to get that victory. … To have Christopher already in the playoffs, it’s a big deal for us, for sure. It’s hard to do, put it that way.”
[Read More: Late-race spin ends Chase Elliott’s road-course winning streak at Daytona]