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Christopher Bell believes the hardest part of his fractured wrist recovery is no longer the injury itself.
Instead, it’s learning how to race with a cast.
After climbing from his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota during last weekend’s inaugural Cup Series race at Naval Base Coronado following the opening caution, Bell confirmed Saturday that he plans to run the full distance in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
Even more encouraging, the Chase contender said pain is no longer the issue.
“I feel I’m not getting out of this one,” Bell told reporters Saturday after practice.
Bell suffered the fractured wrist in a crash at Michigan International Speedway three weeks ago. Although he felt capable of racing last weekend, Joe Gibbs Racing elected to take a cautious approach and substituted rookie Brent Crews after the race’s opening caution.
Now, Bell says he expects to stay behind the wheel for all 110 laps at Sonoma.
Bell explained that he actually felt ready to compete during last weekend’s race, even though the team ultimately decided not to take the risk.
“Last week, after driving the car, I felt really, really good in the car through practice, and then even in the start of the race, I felt really well,” Bell said. “I wanted to race, but the team around me felt pretty committed just going down the avenue of risk management at San Diego, with the tight confines of the concrete walls around you all the way around. So yeah, opted to sit out that one, and I feel I’m not getting out of this one.”
The biggest change entering Sonoma isn’t that Bell’s wrist has fully healed. Rather, he says the pain has largely disappeared.
“By the time we got to San Diego, I didn’t have any pain at all driving the car,” Bell said. “I feel very clunky and very unorthodox with the cast on my arm and not being able to just move the wheel as quickly and as sharply as I am accustomed to, but I don’t really have any pain.”
Bell added that simulator sessions before Sonoma produced much the same result, giving him confidence he can complete Sunday’s race despite the limitations of the cast.
Although Bell is optimistic, he acknowledged that driving with a cast still changes how he attacks the race car.
“I don’t think I can drive as well as I can without a cast, but it doesn’t hurt me to drive, so that’s really good,” he said.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also offered his clearest timeline yet for the next stage of his recovery.
“I think the natural transition will be to go from a cast to some sort of brace. It’ll be a little bit before I have freedom again, but hopefully the days of the cast are dwindling down, which I’m excited about.”
Joe Gibbs Racing will still have Brent Crews on standby should Bell need to climb out of the car unexpectedly. But based on Bell’s comments Saturday, he expects that contingency plan to remain just that.
For a driver sitting only 60 points above the Chase cut line, completing Sunday’s race would represent another important step toward putting one of the biggest injuries of his Cup Series career behind him.
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Instead, it’s learning how to race with a cast.
After climbing from his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota during last weekend’s inaugural Cup Series race at Naval Base Coronado following the opening caution, Bell confirmed Saturday that he plans to run the full distance in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
Even more encouraging, the Chase contender said pain is no longer the issue.
“I feel I’m not getting out of this one,” Bell told reporters Saturday after practice.
Bell suffered the fractured wrist in a crash at Michigan International Speedway three weeks ago. Although he felt capable of racing last weekend, Joe Gibbs Racing elected to take a cautious approach and substituted rookie Brent Crews after the race’s opening caution.
Now, Bell says he expects to stay behind the wheel for all 110 laps at Sonoma.
Christopher Bell says the pain is gone
Bell explained that he actually felt ready to compete during last weekend’s race, even though the team ultimately decided not to take the risk.
“Last week, after driving the car, I felt really, really good in the car through practice, and then even in the start of the race, I felt really well,” Bell said. “I wanted to race, but the team around me felt pretty committed just going down the avenue of risk management at San Diego, with the tight confines of the concrete walls around you all the way around. So yeah, opted to sit out that one, and I feel I’m not getting out of this one.”
The biggest change entering Sonoma isn’t that Bell’s wrist has fully healed. Rather, he says the pain has largely disappeared.
“By the time we got to San Diego, I didn’t have any pain at all driving the car,” Bell said. “I feel very clunky and very unorthodox with the cast on my arm and not being able to just move the wheel as quickly and as sharply as I am accustomed to, but I don’t really have any pain.”
Bell added that simulator sessions before Sonoma produced much the same result, giving him confidence he can complete Sunday’s race despite the limitations of the cast.
The cast remains, but Bell sees the next step coming
Although Bell is optimistic, he acknowledged that driving with a cast still changes how he attacks the race car.
“I don’t think I can drive as well as I can without a cast, but it doesn’t hurt me to drive, so that’s really good,” he said.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also offered his clearest timeline yet for the next stage of his recovery.
“I think the natural transition will be to go from a cast to some sort of brace. It’ll be a little bit before I have freedom again, but hopefully the days of the cast are dwindling down, which I’m excited about.”
Joe Gibbs Racing will still have Brent Crews on standby should Bell need to climb out of the car unexpectedly. But based on Bell’s comments Saturday, he expects that contingency plan to remain just that.
For a driver sitting only 60 points above the Chase cut line, completing Sunday’s race would represent another important step toward putting one of the biggest injuries of his Cup Series career behind him.
Continue reading...
