Ahead of the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway, Christopher Bell spoke to the media following his violent 63G crash in the NASCAR Cup Series Race at Michigan International Speedway.
The Crash
This wreck was so hard, the frame cracked. 😳 pic.twitter.com/En7rBajWTt
— Motorsport (@Motorsport) June 12, 2026
On Lap 148 of that race, Bell was hit by Chase Elliott from the inside. Both cars were sent into the outside wall fast at a sharp angle. After initial examination and long treatment, Bell departed the infield care center and headed home where he was seen wearing what appeared to be a cast around his left wrist. In the hours that followed, there were questions on if he would race the following weekend at all, but it was confirmed on June 9th that he would.
“To get out of there with just a fractured wrist was pretty immaculate,” Bell said, “I owe all of the credit to NASCAR and my team for building safe cars.”
“Super, super blessed I didn’t hit my noggin,” he continued.
Bell knew right away his wrist was broken because he could not disconnect his shirt. Additionally, he knew his head was ok because he didn’t black out and remembered everything, passing the concussion tests in the care center.
The Oklahoma native described his perspective of the incident, sharing how his ear piece fell out on impact meaning he had no communication with the team.
“I scared the crap out of my wife and probably everyone else listening since I didn’t respond when Tab checked on me.”
Throughout the week, countless people, including Chase Elliott several times, reached out to check on the 31-year old.
“It’s incredible the amount of people that have reached out to me,” Bell said. “My phone has literally been on fire.”
Bell’s team molded the wheel and took material away to adjust to the cast. One of the biggest adjustments for the driver of the No. 20 Toyota is that he will have to drive with purely his right hand, as he usually drives with primarily his left hand.
The Pocono Race and Looking Forward
During practice and qualifying on Saturday, Bell put up the 25th best time in practice and qualified 22nd. The driver noted that he plans to run the full 400-mile race, but has Brandon Jones as a relief driver if he is unable to complete the event. If Jones were to hop into the No. 20, he would do so after the first caution, marking his first Cup start.
In 10 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at Pocono, Jones has three top-10s and sits on the pole for the O’Reilly race that goes green later today. In two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts, Jones has a win and a 4th-place finish.
After Pocono, the series heads to two road courses: Naval Base Coronado and Sonoma Raceway. Bell has been able to put up “an hour or two” in the simulator and is “thankful it’s another seven days away.”
“(San Diego and Sonoma) are certainly going to be hard,” Bell said. “I’m just going to take it day by day.”
Pocono is a solid track for Bell, earning a top-5 and two top-10s in the four Gen-7 Pocono events. It’s a track where his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, has dominated at over the past few years. But for Bell, he comes into this race with an average finishing position of 11.6, sixth best of the active full-time drivers. Looking ahead, Bell is also one of the top road course racers in NASCAR, with three wins on the track type.
Bell sits 10th in points heading into this weekend. While he is situated well above the Chase cutline, the team expects to be higher in points, and two strong results on those road courses could earn him multiple spots in the regular season standings.
