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NASCAR MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 17, 2016Christopher BellQ. Do you think you would have had the opportunity you had right now had Tony Stewart kind of not paved the way for guys like you coming out of dirt? CHRISTOPHER BELL: Well, I guess it kind of goes back to Jeff Gordon because Jeff was kind of the first guy to come from the dirt ways. But, yeah, definitely between Jeff and Tony and now Kyle Larson, they've definitely helped out and been able to sort of pave the way for us dirt racers. Q. You've been at Chili Bowl enough to see the kind of passion Tony has for that style of racing. What do you think his contribution has been to that event as well? CHRISTOPHER BELL: The Chili Bowl, me growing up in Oklahoma, it's my favorite race the of the year, it's my favorite race in the world. Growing up in Oklahoma, that's the race I went to every time and got to see Tony Stewart and all those guys go there. It's cool to see how much passion he has for it and it's awesome to be able to have him be a part of it year in and year out. So, yeah, it's just cool. It's awesome to see him be a part of it still. Q. Do you think you're the underdog? CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, I do think I'm the underdog, just because I don't think anybody really expected us to be here. But after the start of the year, we were fast at the beginning of the year, then we kind of just didn't go right where we didn't finish races, then we were behind, kind of lost our speed there for a little bit. But now here we're in the Chase, we're in the thick of things. So we made it this far. We're going to have to make sure that we're on our A game to be able to be able to pull this off. But I know Jerry Baxter, my crew chief, has been awesome at this racetrack, Homestead. So I'm really looking forward to coming here and getting to race for a championship. It's a dream come true. Q. You ran the truck race at Homestead last year, had a problem at the end. Didn't get the finish you wanted. What did you learn last year that can help? CHRISTOPHER BELL: It's huge because last year I was able to run I think seven races, and that was kind of the goal we put together, was to be able to go to these races because we knew they would be really important coming in this year. Did we know we'd be racing for a championship? We hoped so, but we didn't really know. Now here we are. Thankfully I have experience here at Homestead, not as much as the other three guys, but I do have a race under my belt, which will be a big help. Q. There was some chatter yesterday that you had a conversation with Kyle at the beginning of the year when you were making mistakes. He sat you down and said, Look, in order to finish first, you have to finish races. What kind of mentoring has that been? Is that story true? CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, well, yes and no. Like at the beginning of the year, we were really fast. It wasn't falling together. I was making mistakes. We're just getting caught up in wrecks. I got down on myself. Our team kind of fell into a hole, got into a slump where we were like, Man, we can't do anything right. Jerry was kind of down. I was down. Kyle just sat me down. He said, Look, you've got great equipment. You're a talented racecar driver. Jerry is a hell of a crew chief. Everything will come together. You just got to stop trying to make it come together. And then once that finally‑‑ once I took that mentality to the racetrack, just said, Whatever happens happens, I just was able to let it fall in place. That's wherever we went to Gateway, I took the lead. If I remember right, I could have got shoved up the racetrack. It didn't even bother me. I just said, Okay, it's not my day. The next lap later they wreck, I get the lead back. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. That's the mentality we have going into Homestead. Q. How important is this weekend for you? CHRISTOPHER BELL: It's huge. Not only for me, but for Kyle Busch Motorsports, too, because they are obviously really prestigious, one of the top‑class truck teams. To be able to represent Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota, Toyota Racing Development, JBL, Sirius XM, all of our partners we've had throughout the years, it's an honor. It's really special to be a part of this, especially being the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase that we've got. It's a dream come true to be a part of it but really thankful that I get to represent Kyle Busch Motorsports. Q. You competed at Homestead last year. What are your expectations for this weekend? Hopefully better than last year, I assume? CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, well, last year, we knew going into last year that every race I was going to get was going to be kind of just there for experience. Thankfully I was able to go to seven racetracks, seven different racetracks. Homestead was one of the seven. I'm excited to get to go back there because it's a place that I really enjoy. Seems to fit my driving style okay. Hopefully we'll have a fast truck. I know my crew chief, Jerry Baxter, has had a lot of success here. There's no doubt in my mind we're going to be fast. We just got to put it all together. Q. Has that whole experience been overwhelming for you, being in the final four? CHRISTOPHER BELL: Not overwhelming. It never really sank in until this week what had actually happened. You know, we got into the Chase. We won a race. But didn't finish a lot of races. We weren't really in good points shape. But then we won, so we knew we were in. You know, we knew we were in the Chase, but it never really set in that, Hey, I got a shot to win this thing, until after Phoenix. 20 laps to go at Phoenix, I was sitting on the outside looking in. Now I'm on the inside, I'm in the final four, and we got a shot. I'm really just thankful to be here. I never would have dreamed to be in this position, to be racing for a NASCAR championship. To be able to be part of the first Truck Chase is something I'm really proud about. Q. What has Kyle said to you about this weekend? CHRISTOPHER BELL: Obviously, with the start of my season, crashing, crashing, crashing some more, it was similar to Kyle's year last year, whenever he won the championship, because he didn't race at the beginning of the year. He's still able to come back and win the championship. He kind of knew what it was like to dig out of a hole and to be able to still get it done. To have him as a mentor is something that's really cool and really special. I wouldn't want to be driving for anyone else. Q. Has he said anything to you about what to do or what to expect this weekend? CHRISTOPHER BELL: No, no, he hasn't. It's another race. So we're going to go in here and do our job. If we do our job, then we'll be sitting on top of the podium. Q. How much would this mean for you and really your future in general? CHRISTOPHER BELL: It would be huge. I mean to say this isn't one of the biggest races of my life would be an understatement or would be a lie. You know, it's another race. From whatever happens from here, it was a successful season. Our goal was to make it to the final four. We made it to the final four. We're going to go out here, go have fun. If Jerry does his job, I do my job, I think we'll be sitting pretty. Q. Do you consider yourself the underdog this weekend? CHRISTOPHER BELL: Do I consider myself the underdog? No. Does everybody else? Probably. I think we've got everything it takes to be successful at Homestead. I mean, our year has definitely not been the year that we've wanted. We've only won one race. But we're going to make it two after Friday. Q. That said, you're the young guy competing against three guys who have been doing this for a long time in this series. Is that intimidating at all to you? Is that something that basically you can use as an edge? CHRISTOPHER BELL: Well, with me only being 21 years old, it's kind of been, you know, so far my whole life. I've always been the young guy. It's nothing new to me right now. Whenever I won the USAC championship, it was me and Bryan Clauson were the two guys at the end of the year that were racing for the championship. He was the veteran, I was the rookie. I've been in this situation before, obviously not at this magnitude. But I do have experience at, I guess, championship racing and pressure moments. So I'm excited to get the pressure on on Friday and try and do my best to conquer it. Q. Have you ever been involved in any level of racing in anything similar to this kind of format where you have four guys, winner take all basically? CHRISTOPHER BELL: No, not for this magnitude. I've been in different races where it's kind of a four‑people race, and winner take all deal, but nothing for like a championship or a whole year relying on one race. It's awesome that NASCAR decided to implement the Chase format because I think it adds a lot of excitement and a lot of drama to the races, and it definitely keeps the fans on the edge of their seat, it keeps the drivers knowing that you have to go, go, go all the time. It definitely eliminates some of the, All right, take your 10th, 15th, top 20s. I enjoy this style of racing. Q. Do you think the winner is going to have to win the race? CHRISTOPHER BELL: I don't know. It's going to be tough to say. There's so many good truck drivers this year. Like before the Chase even started, we didn't even know if a win was going to get you in, because we thought there were going to be more winners than Chase‑eligible spots. There are so many talented guys that have a chance of winning Friday night. Obviously a win would win you the championship, I don't know if a win is necessarily necessary to win you the championship. Q. You made it all the way to the final. You obviously have to like this Chase format. CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, well, it's funny you ask that because I was actually disappointed whenever I heard that NASCAR was going to the Chase format for the trucks base I felt like being at Kyle Busch Motorsports, we were going to be able to contend for the championship and be able to perform week in and week out, win the championship in the normal way. But now looking back at my year, how it started out, where we crashed a lot, just never got going till the middle half of the season, it's been a blessing in disguise. To be able to sit here in the final four, one race away from a championship is something that I wouldn't have seen coming if you would have asked me in April or May. It's awesome to be in this situation. Homestead is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. I'm really excited to be able to race for a championship my rookie year. Q. Looking back on the Chase races up to now, you found it tough or... CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, so, it was kind of smooth sailing for us the first round. We went to Loudon and we tested at Loudon, ended up second to my teammate William. That gave us a little bit of a cushion. We kind of rode that one out for the first round. Then come Texas, we were sitting really good in Texas. All of a sudden we had a bad pit stop with 10 to go, motor issues. Then all of a sudden we're kind of scratching our head, Uh‑oh. 20 to go at Phoenix, we're out. It's just incredible the amount of drama that's been implemented with this Chase format. It's kept me on the edge of my seat, I know that. I've been sweating bullets for the last two weeks. To be able to come into Homestead, being in the final four, it feels like the pressure is off and now we can have fun. Q. Do you think the format is perfect or... CHRISTOPHER BELL: There's never a perfect format. I feel like it does everything you ask it to. It keeps the fans entertained. It keeps the drivers racing for wins. It provides drama. I feel like NASCAR does an excellent job promoting their product, and the Chase was just something to help keep fans interested and to kind of create drama, create action, make drivers race hard, race for wins. It's done exactly that. Q. Three veterans, you're the rookie. Nobody has ever done it before. Is that a little bit to your advantage because nobody has ever done it before? CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, I don't really know. It's something, like you said, that nobody's done. It's just another race. It doesn't matter what the format is. We're out here to win. It's just cool that we're all even. Whoever finishes in front of who is going to be able to be the finish. Whoever finishes second is going to run second. It's cool. I feel like it's really good to keep the fans updated whoever beats who is going to be the champion, and that's it. Like I said, NASCAR has done an excellent job providing that excitement and drama for the Truck Series and it's a lot of fun to be a part of. Q. This is kind of home to you. One race to have it all. CHRISTOPHER BELL: Yeah, you know, looking back at it, after Friday at Phoenix, I've been able to sit back and realize there's no more riding, there's no more take your top 10s, top 5s. This is it. Put it all on the line, go race now. I'm excited to be able to go race and go back to how I grew up, being aggressive. No more playing it safe. We get to go race, go try and get it done. Q. With Byron out of this thing, you're the main guy for the team now here at Homestead. Do you feel more pressure? CHRISTOPHER BELL: Do I feel any more pressure? No, not really, because I feel like there's two teams at KBM that ran full‑time this year. He wants both of them to perform. It's not like he was relying on Byron to be the only team performing. We made it here. I mean, I feel horrible for William because obviously he was kind of the class of the field the entire year. But luck was on our side and now we're in the Chase. So to be able to be racing for a championship, it's a dream come true. It definitely will be a nice way to end the year after how it started, for sure. Q. How have you been working well together this year? CHRISTOPHER BELL: We've been working together well. William is an outstanding talent. He's a great person to be around, too. It's been a pleasure having him as my teammate. It's going to suck that he's moving on, kind of drifting away from the Toyota family. But it's a good opportunity for him. I'm excited to race with him in the future. Q. Homestead seems like a great track for you. Kyle Larson has a lot of dirt background. What are your thoughts about using the high lane? CHRISTOPHER BELL: I can't wait to go to Homestead. It's one of my favorite racetracks on the schedule. You can move around a lot. To be able to have the championship race at Homestead is definitely one of my strong points, I would say. Me and Kyle Larson are pretty good buddies. I've had him to rely on or to get uhm some notes from, and obviously Kyle Busch ain't too bad there either. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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