Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell managed to finish Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway, fighting through the pain and limitations of driving with a broken wrist. With NASCAR now headed to Naval Base Coronado, JGR might need a backup plan for the No. 20 car this weekend.
On the latest episode of The Teardown, motorsports reporter Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic mentioned that Brent Crews could be an option as an in-race replacement driver for Bell at the San Diego Street Race.
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While Bell proved Sunday that he could race the car on an oval essentially with one arm, it came at a cost. He told reporters after the race, as Jeff Gluck of The Athletic highlighted, that the injury severely impacted his ability to drive the car.
“He basically said he is going to have to drive with one arm…If he’s going straight, if he’s by himself, he can drive the car. The problem is, if he’s trying to avoid a wreck, on a restart…He said “I lost some spots today on a restart because of my wrist.” He didn’t sound extremely confident necessarily about next week.”
The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck on Christopher Bell’s wrist injury
All of that poses a problem on the San Diego Street Race. The course has numerous turns, a lot of bumps that can get cars loose, and some tight areas that are expected to result in an unusual number of crashes, including early in the race. All of those will make things even harder for Bell and put the No. 20 team in a position for one of its worst finishes of the season.
However, there is another option. JGR could have him start the race and then pull over onto pit road and have a replacement driver get behind the wheel of the No. 20. While Bell would not be eligible for stage points, the team would still earn points for how it finishes the race.
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Crews is a compelling option, but it would be a gamble for JGR since the 18-year-old phenom has never raced in the Cup Series before. One thing worth noting, which Bianchi mentioned, is that Denny Hamlin
“I talked to Denny Hamlin yesterday for a story I’m working on for The Athletic this week. I was kind of asking him to walk me through San Diego. He’s like, you know, I’m going to lean on Brent Crews a little bit because Brent hasa ran more, has had more laps there on the iRacing stuff than the other guys.”
Jordan Bianchi on Brent Crews
Bell will undergo further evaluation this week on his wrist to see how it is healing before having another cast put on. If it is determined by Friday’s practice that the pain is too much or the limitations from the injury are too damaging for the No. 20 team, it seems possible that we see a replacement driver behind the wheel of the car on Sunday.
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