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By Chase Wilhelm NASCAR.com December 17, 2020 at 5:08 PM
Christopher Bell hasn’t strapped into a race car since the NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway in November, in a change from previous years. But it’s been for good reason.
While he prepares to battle for his fourth Chili Bowl Nationals title in January in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Bell has pushed aside his usual dirt racing adventures to focus on getting acclimated to his new No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team. The 2021 season will be the sophomore driver’s first with the organization after spending his rookie year with now shuttered Leavine Family Racing.
Elliott impresses Briscoe, Reddick in prep for Chili Bowl Your browser does not support the audio element.
By Zack Albert NASCAR.com December 30, 2020 at 2:49 PM
Chase Elliott’s first competitive stint in a midget car last weekend delivered not only some valuable prep time for the NASCAR Cup Series champ’s Chili Bowl Nationals debut next month, but it also generated some rave reviews from two Cup Series peers with rich dirt-track pedigrees.
Elliott finished third and fourth in Saturday’s twin A-Mains at the 1/6-mile Millbridge Speedway oval near Salisbury, North Carolina, placing not far behind feature winners Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson, who will both compete alongside him in the Cup Series in 2021. Briscoe helped make the connection for Elliott with his midget-car effort, and the dividends were a podium result in the 30-lap opener and a positive first impr
Despite a challenging learning curve towards the high-powered lightweight stock car, Elliott ultimately finished third behind Ty Majeski and Derek Thorn, in an event that also included fellow Cup Series champion Kyle Busch and NASCAR notables Noah Gragson, Grant Enfinger and Chandler Smith.
The week-long event allowed him to reconnect with his first crew chief, 2002 Snowball Derby winner Ricky Turner, the racer turned mechanic that powered Elliott to over 50 Late Model victories across the East Coast. Daylon Barr
The No. 9 Super Late Model looked familiar but was owned by veteran Cup Series team owner James Finch, who actually made the phone call to Hendrick that encouraged him to sign the second-generation racer to a development contract at just 14-years-old.