5 Points to Ponder: Can Christopher Bell Recapture the Magic?<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like it\u2019s been a dream to do it, right?\u201d Raz told Frontstretch. \u201cAnything in the top three [series]. I mean, really, this opportunity last year, I wouldn\u2019t even think would have been possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Raz, a part-time ARCA Menards Series driver, sat in his hauler waiting to climb into his No. 76 AM Racing Ford in what would be his first career start in one of NASCAR\u2019s top three divisions. For somebody with only 15 ARCA starts and numerous late model appearances under his belt, it was a big leap into the next stage of a racer\u2019s career.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s excitement,\u201d Raz continued. \u201cIt\u2019s nerves. I want to throw up, but (there\u2019s) also just a lot of learning to be had, which excites me because I feel like we\u2019ve gone to a lot of new places this year \u2014 so you still have a learning curve \u2014 but this is just so much to take in a rather short time. My pit stops and all the things that the regular guys do 22 weeks already, the small things are just going to be a lot to learn, so I\u2019m pumped up.\u201d<\/p>\n But one of those 15 starts is exactly the reason his debut came to be. In 2024, Raz won the ARCA Menards Series West race at Kevin Harvick\u2019s Kern Raceway after a long grueling side-by-side battle with series regular Trevor Huddleston<\/a>.<\/p>\n His win raised the eyebrows of potential partners Cyclum Next Gen Travel Centers and full-time ARCA and Xfinity team AM Racing. It took over a year and some additional ARCA starts for the Oregonian, but it finally led to a Xfinity debut. <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s how Cyclum Next Gen Travel Centers found me, and we talked on the phone for a couple months and things progressed, and we got to do an ARCA race at Phoenix in November,\u201d Raz recalled. \u201cThen we had a rough game plan of what we want to do between ARCA stuff and potential Xfinity, and we were hoping to do some Xfinity starts earlier in the year, and just the timing of it all didn\u2019t really work out. And obviously, we\u2019ve been off with AM for about three months now since Michigan. \u2026 With the playoffs starting, this was the last possible chance for us to do anything the rest of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n It may have been known for some time, but it didn\u2019t make the start any less special for the young racer. Especially when taking into account his hometown. Historically, most NASCAR stars are native to the Southeastern end of the United States, and those few that are from the West Coast are California natives. <\/p>\n So, when you think of NASCAR drivers from Oregon, very few will likely come to mind. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just different from the East Coast in the sense of we don\u2019t have as deep of a competition level for super late models,\u201d Raz said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of talented guys out there that don\u2019t get the spotlight that I feel like they deserve just because we are out West that\u2019s so disconnected. But, going back home, it always still kicks my ass here in the area of running. So, there\u2019s a lot of guys out there that I think deserve an opportunity, and it\u2019s just an honor for me to be one to represent a West Coast guy because there is so little.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, when he took the green flag on Saturday, Raz became the first Oregonian to make a NASCAR start that was born in this century. Additionally, he\u2019s now one of only 50 Oregon drivers to make a start in NASCAR\u2019s national divisions, joining the likes of NASCAR Hall of Famer Hershel McGriff<\/a> and Mike Bliss<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThe West Coast guys just don\u2019t have the same chance to go secure that kind of funding unless it is family related,\u201d Raz said. \u201cThat limits a lot of it, but to have the opportunity to be one to do it, it\u2019s pretty humbling.\u201d<\/p>\n With all of this pressure and anticipation, Raz did what he felt he needed to do to get ready. A short track veteran, the 22-year-old had not been on a 1.25-mile track like Gateway before. Plus, to a driver that has raced ARCA cars and late models his whole life, getting used to the versatile Xfinity car was a must.<\/p>\n Waid\u2019s World: How Bristol\u2019s 1st Night Race Grew into Something Big, Popular<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s quite a bit different, especially from the late model,\u201d Raz said. \u201cI prefer the Xfinity car over the ARCA car. I feel like you can actually drive through a certain condition better. Like, the ARCA car was stuck. It\u2019s more fun as a driver in this series.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, leading up to his debut, Raz relied on the guidance of his AM Racing teammate and Xfinity playoff driver Harrison Burton<\/a>, also. In fact, it got to the point where the young West Coast racer was worried he may be annoying him.<\/p>\n \u201c[Burton] helped, yeah,\u201d Raz recalled. \u201cI was flying to Pensacola, and I was just blowing his phone out. I was like, \u2018You cut me off whenever you want. I\u2019m not trying to wear you out. This is a big enough week for you already. The last thing you need is just a rookie to be asking you stupid questions, right?\u2019 But it\u2019s been a huge help, and he explained that this allows him to think it through in a different way as well. So, it actually kind of evened out for both of us, but it\u2019s been really great to have somebody to lean on like him.\u201d<\/p>\n After everything, Raz had the hope that a top-20 finish was in the works. <\/p>\n Unfortunately, despite his preparation, the positivity of his first start floundered shortly after that green flag. Raz and the No. 76 team had a brake issue early in stage one and had to bring the car to the garage to make repairs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe fired off actually pretty well,\u201d Raz reported. \u201cWe maintained, gained a little bit of track position and was happy with where we were at. Pedal started getting a little soft, and, obviously, with me not being accustomed to these things, I didn\u2019t know if it was temperature related like if I overcooked them early on, so I backed that off and got off into turn 3 and it went to the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n The young West Coast racer rejoined the circuit later but finished 15 laps down in 34th.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t the debut he wanted, but nonetheless it was enough to get used to a car he had never run before. Perhaps, despite the poor result, it\u2019s enough to grant him more NASCAR starts in 2025 and beyond. <\/p>\n \u201cAt that point it was just trying to make a day out of learning for me, right?\u201d Raz said. \u201cI mean, we\u2019re not going to get anything position wise, (I\u2019m) trying to learn and get the rest of the year of whatever we can do. The last stage there, I was actually really happy with our balance, like, we had good top-15 speed, and that\u2019s that was going to be my goal, right?<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully, we can come back for more.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n NASCAR At Track Coordinator\u00a0at\u00a0Frontstretch<\/p>\n Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin’ Out Loud column, co-host of the\u00a0Frontstretch Happy Hour podcast,\u00a0and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.<\/p>\n![\"NASCAR](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-darlington-2-cup-christopher-bell-2-nkp-150x100.jpg\")
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