{"id":183440,"date":"2026-02-27T20:01:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T20:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/183440\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T20:01:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T20:01:44","slug":"defending-winner-christopher-bell-ready-for-high-speed-showdown-at-cota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/183440\/","title":{"rendered":"Defending Winner Christopher Bell Ready for High-Speed Showdown at COTA"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 The Duramax Texas Grand Prix takes over Circuit of the Americas this weekend, and defending race winner Christopher Bell is already in town.<\/p>\n

Before climbing back into the No. 20 car, Bell spent Wednesday enjoying a little local flavor, attending the UT basketball game, grabbing barbecue at Terry Black’s Barbecue, and even squeezing in a round at Butler Pitch & Putt.<\/p>\n

When asked what\u2019s tougher, navigating a road course at 200 miles per hour or sinking a short putt, Bell didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly trying to get this little white ball in that hole is much harder for me than driving around the racetrack,\u201d Bell joked.<\/p>\n

Why Bell Loves Racing at COTA<\/p>\n

While his short game may need work, Bell\u2019s road-course skills are sharp.<\/p>\n

He says COTA is one of the most exciting tracks on the NASCAR calendar because of its layout and passing opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing that\u2019s very unique about COTA is passing is very easy,\u201d Bell said. \u201cThey have a ton of passing zones, especially into Turn One.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That steep uphill charge into the first corner has become one of the track\u2019s signature moments, and Bell says it consistently delivers action.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re always going to have guys passing and driving by people. It\u2019s not going to be that single-file choo-choo train that we get at some of the other tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Living a Childhood Dream<\/p>\n

Bell now drives the iconic No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing, the same number once driven by Tony Stewart in the famous Home Depot colors.<\/p>\n

For Bell, that connection still feels surreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember watching Tony Stewart in that Home Depot No. 20 car. Now, for me to be driving the No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs \u2014 that was outside of my wildest dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now he returns to Austin not just as a competitor but as the defending race winner.<\/p>\n

Bell will look to repeat his success this weekend at Circuit of the Americas, where he says fans are guaranteed excitement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful facility. Even if you\u2019re there for other reasons, you can have a great time at Circuit of the Americas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green flag drops this weekend in Austin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 The Duramax Texas Grand Prix takes over Circuit of the Americas this weekend, and defending…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-183440","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-austin","9":"tag-austin-headlines","10":"tag-austin-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}