40 Days 'Til Daytona - Today's Featured Driver: Christopher Bell

In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500.  Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 

 

20th Place – Christopher Bell – 678 pts

 

By the Numbers:

 

4 DNFs – In a decently competitive year for rookies, Christopher Bell scored the least amount of DNFs of them all, with four.  John Hunter Nemechek had 5, and both Tyler Reddick and Cole Custer each had 6. 

 

2 Top 5s – For a rookie season in some subpar equipment, managing even a single Top 5 would be quite a feat.  Christopher Bell doubled that by collecting Top 5s at Pocono 1 (4th) and Texas 2 (3rd).  His Top 5 and Top 10 numbers are the exact same as Rookie of the Year Cole Custer, but as Custer was the only rookie to win in 2020, he automatically won the prize.

 

+275 Pass Differential – Christopher Bell didn’t just score the best pass differential out of all the 2020 rookies, he actually had the 2nd best out of all drivers, only to be beat by eventual Cup Champ, Chase Elliott (+307).  This means that Christopher Bell, while under green, passed other drivers 275 more times than he was passed, himself. 

 

1,425 Quality Passes – While Bell may have one of the better pass differentials of all the drivers, it’s important to compare that passing rate with the number of quality passes he made (in other words, the number of passes that were made in the Top 15 under green).  1,425 Quality Passes in 2020 ranks 18th out of all drivers, meaning much of his passing was done against lesser competition in the back half of the field.

 

7 Straight (ish) Races Starting 30th or Worse – Aside from the Double-Header weekend at Pocono, where the starting lineup was decided by the previous race’s finish, the stretch of races between Martinsville 1 through to Texas 1 featured a random draw to help determine qualifying order.  Bell fans were starting to think there was a conspiracy against their driver.

 

Christopher Bell will move from the now-folded Leavine Family Racing Team to the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota in 2021, taking the ride from Erik Jones.

 

Coming up in two days – Tyler Reddick

 

Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR

 

 

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