“If You Want an All-American Kid”-Joe Gibbs Chooses JGR Driver Over Grandson to Make JGR Whole

Christopher Bell had the faster car at Iowa on Sunday. He won Stage 2, led laps, and spent the final stretch trying every line he could find to get past the leader. None of it worked. A two-tire call from the other pit box gave Ty Gibbs just enough track position to hold him off. Bell crossed the line 0.253 seconds behind, in second place, for the seventh time this season. And when Joe Gibbs stepped in front of the cameras after the race, his grandson’s win took a backseat.

“If you want the all-American kid, you can pick Christopher,” Joe Gibbs said. “He’s that guy. He’s totally focused on racing. He’s really a good teammate.”

His grandson had just won. He was talking about Bell. That is not a small thing coming from Gibbs. He has backed those words with decisions. When JGR locked Bell into a long-term extension, they were choosing their centerpiece. Martin Truex Jr. retired. Denny Hamlin splits his time co-owning 23XI Racing. Bell is the one holding the organization together.

Joe Gibbs put Bell’s No. 20 car under Interstate Batteries sponsorship. That is JGR’s founding partner. You do not hand that to just anyone. He also kept Bell off dirt for years, banning him from events like the Chili Bowl while other drivers raced wherever they wanted. Bell was too important to risk.

Bell grew up racing micro-sprints in Oklahoma and told Gibbs early on, “Coach, this is all I can do. I have to be successful in racing.”

That kind of hunger stuck with Gibbs. It still does.

Bell is not finding any comfort in any of it right now. Iowa was his seventh runner-up of 2026. He is yet to win this season. Bell did all of this with a fractured left wrist. He suffered the injury earlier in the summer and has been racing through it since.

Iowa is one of the most physical tracks on the circuit,  hard on the body for all 350 laps. He still won a stage, challenged for the win, and finished second.

“This is what you call a bad second-place finish, for sure,” Bell said. “I don’t know what else to say.”

He had the lead. He had the pace. A tire call from the other side of the garage took it away.

He has now lost enough races this way that he ranks them in his head. “It’s bad that I can start ranking them,” he admitted.

Joe Gibbs still believes in Bell. He said it plainly, in front of everyone, the same day his grandson drove to victory lane.

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