Christopher Bell Loses Crew Chief to Injury

What’s Happening?

Three-time 2024 race winner Christopher Bell will be without veteran crew chief Adam Stevens at the track for the foreseeable future. A press release from Joe Gibbs Racing late Monday afternoon stated that Stevens was injured on vacation over the Olympic break and underwent successful knee surgery, which he will need time to recover from

• Stevens is out for an undetermined amount of time. During this time, Chris Sherwood, the 20 car’s Car Chief, has stepped into the role of Crew Chief. This will be Sherwood’s first time as Crew Chief, and in doing so, he is taking over one of the most successful teams this season.
• Driver Christopher Bell enters Richmond eighth in NASCAR Cup Series points with three wins, seven top-fives, and 12 top-tens. He is also fourth in the NASCAR Playoff picture, tied for the second most wins this season with Denny Hamlin and William Byron.
• Bell has been paired with Stevens since joining the 20 car and JGR’s Cup Series program in 2021. Together, the pair has nine wins and is coming off back-to-back top-five points finishes in the last two seasons.
• Stevens has been a Crew Chief with the team since 2011, when he called the shots for the team’s rotational Xfinity Series entry. With 37 wins and two Cup Series Championships, both with Kyle Busch, Stevens has put together an excellent career at JGR.

Stevens commented on the matter in Monday’s JGR press release:

“I hate that I won’t be at the track for a few weeks, but I will be fully engaged remotely. I am very thankful for the depth and strength of this 20 team and don’t anticipate my physical absence having any effect on our performance. The surgery went well, and I will be back at the track in a few weeks.”

Stevens will work from the JGR “war room” during this time; these remote workspaces give Crew Chiefs all the necessary data to help the team on Sunday.

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