Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour presented by NASCAR on FOX - Christopher Bell Interview

Episode Date: May 30, 2024

On Episode 30 of “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour,” NASCAR Legend Kevin Harvick welcomes NASCAR driver Christopher Bell for an enriching and enlightening discussion. Together, they embark on a journey into the dynamic world of professional racing, offering viewers an exclusive glimpse into the inner workings of the sport. As the conversation unfolds, Kevin and Christopher delve into the highs and lows of Christopher’s illustrious career, reflecting on memorable victories and challenging moments alike. They discuss Christopher’s remarkable triumph at the Coca-Cola 600, where he shares insights into the race strategy, the impact of rain delays, and the determination that propelled him to victory.But beyond the thrill of victory, Kevin and Christopher delve into the deeper layers of racing, exploring the intricate relationships that drive success on the track. Christopher opens up about his special bond with his Crew Chief Adam Stevens, emphasizing the importance of trust and communication in their partnership. The conversation extends further as Christopher shares his perspective on the evolution of NASCAR, drawing comparisons between past and present racing cars and discussing the sport's ever-changing landscape. Additionally, he shares valuable insights into navigating the pressures of professional racing, addressing topics such as handling criticism with resilience and finding moments of relaxation outside the fast-paced world of NASCAR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'll be honest, that was the first time in my career that I've gotten booed in Victory Lane. And I mean, I knew that the situation was not ideal to have that long rain delay and everyone has their hopes up that we're going to go racing again. And then to call it later on in the evening, I understand why the booze were there, but it definitely caught me off guard. Welcome to Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour presented by NASCAR on Fox. We encourage all the closers to follow us on YouTube or anywhere else that you catch your podcast. Today we've got a great guest, obviously over the weekend, won the Coca-Cola 600. Christopher Bell, eighth career win, second win of the season, 2017 Truck Series champion. And I always find to be a very interesting interview, so check it out.

Well, Christopher, thanks for joining us today. We appreciate you taking the time off of your big win at the Coca-Cola 600. Tell me about your day. I know it ended short, but you guys ran in the front pretty much all 300 and however many miles we went, depends on who's counting. But tell me about your day. It seemed like you guys had your stuff together. I know it's been a rough eight weeks with all the things that you've had to deal with and going on, but how's it feel to go through the day, lead laps and be where you were at the end of the day to win the race? Yeah, Kevin, that was a much, much needed weekend for our group. And, you know,

going back to Kansas a couple weeks ago, another intermediate, I felt like we were starting to get a little bit of momentum going after a really, really bad stretch of races. We qualified on the pole at Kansas, but then in the race, we were still just lacking a little bit. So Charlotte was the first weekend in a long time where we had a good practice session, a great qualifying session, and then whenever Sunday rolled around, we had a great race car too. So I was bummed that we didn't get to do all 600 miles, but, you know, a win's a win and obviously a crown jewel event like the Coke 600 is a really big deal. So I'm happy to get a crown jewel, my first one, and hopefully there's a couple more in my future. Yeah, well, I think you've got a bunch more in your future, buddy. I think it's,

it's fun to watch you kind of grow and progress and hear the confidence in your voice. But I've sat outside of a few race cars in Victory Lane and been booed like that. What was that like? Have you ever been booed like that in Victory, then? I know it wasn't really geared towards you, but it caught me off guard. I was sitting in the booth watching it all. Yeah, I'll be honest. That was the first time in my career that I've gotten booed in Victory Lane. And I mean, I knew that the situation was not ideal to have that long rain delay and everyone has their hopes up that we're going to go racing again.

And then to call it later on in the evening, I understand why the booze were there, but it definitely caught me off guard. And especially it was like after they announced, and your winner is Christopher Bell, here he is. and then just the booze rains. So yeah, that's the first for me, but I guess I'd rather have booze than nothing at all. That's right.

And really, surely, I mean, you know that it wasn't, that it wasn't towards you. So I think it was just, it was really interesting because the fans were pretty wound up about coming back to the racetrack and being able to see the track dry. And it was just a weird ending to how it all got canceled. But so I heard you say in your interview after the race,

Did you really find out listening? Were you like half asleep on the couch? Tell me how you found out. I am not kidding, Kevin. I am not kidding, Kevin. So we had the broadcast rolling in the background, right? And I mean, I'll be honest. I thought for sure it was going to get canceled whenever the downpored at 10 o'clock at night

and they lost the racetrack. I thought for sure it was over. And then all of a sudden the rain stops and they didn't call the race. So then I'm just mentally trying to prepare myself for going back racing. And I thought the fact that it stopped raining, they're attempting to drive the track. Like there's no way they're going to call the race at that point. So I'm trying to get a nap in. I knew it was going to be a really late night.

And then you guys had radioactive in the background. So that was just kind of like white noise. And then all of a sudden the radioactive stopped and the booth comes on. And then like you don't, you know what I'm talking about. Like whenever you're not expecting something to come on and it does come on, it like gets your attention. and then literally you guys in the booth and the NASCAR notification that we get on our phones came at the exact same time. So yes, you broke the news to me, basically. Well, at least we were good for something. So I want to go back to your cars. And, you know,

Clint and I and Mike, we talk every week about the speed that you guys have in your cars. And how much does that help you get through like the little slump that you guys have been through? knowing that if you just dot all the eyes and cross all the T's, you can get to where you need to be to win races. I know it's frustrating having the issues on pit road or crashing out or whatever that would be, but how has that helped you get through this situation? Who takes charge in this situation? Is it you?

Is it Chris? Or is this kind of been a, you know, kind of a team effort to put all the pieces together to understand that you guys had the speed, in my opinion, that you've had the speed in your cars? Yeah, I mean, you've been around long enough to know what those slumps feel like, right? And I'll be honest, that was the longest period of bad races I've ever had in my Cup career so far. So I definitely was beat down mentally. But this weekend is just a constant reminder that whenever you're driving for such a premier organization as JGR,

what happens last week, what happens the previous month? it doesn't matter. And the only thing that matters is what's ahead of you and you have the equipment to go out there and win. If you do all the details right, if the setup's right, the pit crew performs and I drive the car to the best of my capability, then we should be in the hunt. And this weekend was an eye opener for that because frankly, we didn't have really any momentum on our side. You know, we did okay at Kansas at the beginning of May. And then North Wilkesboro, I had moments of being good and racing for the win. and then a restart later, I'm literally running dead ass last. So it was just refreshing to just experience that again, right? Like momentum is obviously important and you want to carry it, but if you don't have it, it's not the end of the world. And all you have to do is do the details and you're going to have a shot. So how do you broach that subject with your crew chief?

Is it something that you guys talk about? Is it something that you guys just know? Because every team's different. And I tell people all the time, everybody's personality is different. Every team is different. What's the dynamic of your team and how you guys communicate the bad times? The easy times are good for everybody.

But how do you get through the bad times with Chris and everybody on your team? Yeah. So that's a little bit unique, right? And after driving for a couple different crew chiefs throughout my short career so far, I've learned that every one of them and every team has a different dynamic, right? So in our team's situation, you know, Adam Stevens just worked with Kyle Bush for a long period of time. And Kyle is a very, very different driver than myself. And I think Kyle probably took more of a leadership role in the team than I do.

And I found that I work best whenever I am, I don't want to say an employee of the crew chief, but like I'm underneath the crew chief. And the crew chief runs the team, he leads the team, and he tells, you know, the me, the driver, like, hey, you're going to do this this week, you're going to do that this week. I need you. I need this from you. I need that from you. And that's whenever I can perform my best and get the most out of myself as a driver. So, you know, Adam is our team leader. And he kind of, he's the one that's keeping us going week in and week out, especially through the bad times. So it was really bad there for a little bit. I even had to pump up at him. But it was, you know, he's our leader. He's our team leader for sure.

Yeah, and I apologize for calling him, Chris. I get, I was thinking you're meaning Adam. Yeah, you know I was, you know I was meaning Adam. But the one thing that always is interesting is, and we've asked a lot of the guys this over that have driven the old car. what do you think about the difference in how you prepare in this car compared to the old car? For me, I always thought the workload was a little more intense with this car. What's your opinion on how you prepare for the next-gen car compared to what you did in the old car? Yeah, that's a very interesting question because, I mean, I'm intrigued to hear what other drivers say about it too.

But there are times where you go to the racetrack and probably more so on show. short tracks. But like at Iowa this week at the tire test, it was a repave. Um, so it was on, or it's not like the past, but still the tendencies, the driving tendencies, your, your lift points, how you apply the brake pressure, your throttle on application, like I'm like, wow, like this, this feels like I was just here in an old Xfinity car. Like it related really, really similar. And then, you know, kind of same thing at Loudoun and Phoenix, you know, whenever your car is driving good and doing the things it needs to, at least on the shorter tracks, it feels normal, right? And the caveat to that is the intermediate stuff.

It's just so easy to step over the edge and wreck out by yourself, where especially whenever I got into the Cup series at the intermediates, we had the big spoilers and the low downforce, the high, or the low horsepower, high downforce stuff. So it was pretty easy to overdrive the car and get away with it. Where now, like the Coke 600 this week, it was just for me, stage one was just like, okay, just get to the end of stage one, like get your feet underneath of you and understand, you know, where the limit is with the car without going over. And I've had plenty of races where, you know, I feel like I can get away with running the car a little bit looser. And then I spin out and crash out early in the race. So for me, the preparation is just all about trying to be on the conservative side, you know, early on in the races and then build up your confidence and start driving the car harder later on in the races, especially on the intermediates.

So I was a little bit surprised today when I started just kind of thumbing through your stats. This is your eighth cup win. But I guess, I guess for when I was racing with you, I just look at you as a veteran. But your first first. year in Cup was was 2020 and you were in a really awkward position with a with a team. I don't know that a lot of people realize what a short amount of time that you've actually been in the Cup series. I know it kind of caught me off guard. And so how do you think your progression has changed from where you were then? And that's a whole different subject with a team that was going out of business. We'll talk about that in a minute. But where you were then, how you've progressed to where you are, and what do you think you need to be better at, you know, to win a championship?

Well, Kevin, first off, I appreciate that. That means a lot to me that you have looked at me as a veteran. You know, going back to my start in 2020, yeah, that was a bad break for sure. And the thing that just really, I think, took away from, you know, my stat book and my results the most was not having the practice and the qualifying session. So you never have a chance, and especially my first ever year in the Cups series, we never had an opportunity to work on the car and figure out what I liked in the car. So it was just all going off of notes of what my teammates have done in the past. And you know, maybe later on in the year you can use what you, what your one set up chance that you

got to work at at like a Kansas or a whatever the place had been earlier in the year. So, you know, not having that opportunity to figure out what I liked in the car, and then not being able to qualify for your position and your pit stall selection, it really hindered our races a lot. And then at the end of 2020, we got going a little bit better. And then in 2021, I moved to JGR and got with Adam Stevens, a new crew chief, and there was still no practice or qualifying. So it was a long process of learning what I needed in the cars to be successful. And frankly, we didn't ever get that opportunity until really it was 2022 whenever we went to the racetrack with next gen and we had time to practice and you still barely get to work on the setups but at least I can tell him like hey man

I feel loose and then you can make a change on the car and practice and go back out there and the stopwatches improves and then you're able to build a little bit of a notebook and gain trust in your crew chief that your feedback is legit and if they give you what you need, then you're going to be successful. So, you know, my first two years in the Cup series without practice and qualifying, just it didn't allow myself and my crew chief to get on the same page as far as what I need in the car to be successful. So did you know in 2020 that you were going to Gibbs in 21? I learned in August of 2020. Okay. And so later on. Yeah, so that had to be a relief. But what was it like? We hear all the news from yesterday.

with all the SHR shutting down, selling their charters. What's it going to be like for these drivers as they get towards the end of the year? Not really knowing where they're going because you kind of sat in this position as a really young racer in 2020 with a you learned later in the season. But, you know, you had a team that was shutting down. What's that going to be like? What was that scenario like for you? Yeah, it's interesting you bring that up. I was literally texting with Briscoe yesterday about it and asking him,

the same question. Like, you know, how is this going to work? Like, you know that you don't have a ride next year, but it's so early in the season, I'm sure other people, you know, all the teams are already, I don't know how that works. For me, whenever I was in that situation in 2020, I don't even really remember. I think I might have had a guarantee in 21 to be in the 95 car at LFR. And then whenever Eric ended up leaving, they bumped me to the 20. But so, yeah, I mean, I honestly couldn't answer that.

I don't know what it's going to be like for them, and I don't envy their situation. Oh, that's for sure. Yeah, it's a terrible situation. And you talk a lot about the young drivers, and we talked about, you know, the difference in the car. Are you good at taking criticism? Because I felt like I was criticized when the SMT stuff, I felt like I was going into a courtroom. Every time I came in from practice, every time I came in for a Monday. meeting or Tuesday meeting. It was like, all right, sit down. You did this wrong. You did this wrong. You can do

this better. And I'm taking all this advice from most everybody that doesn't drive. How do you react to that? Are you good at reacting to that? Do you take it well? I mean, I try to, but I'll be honest, Kevin. So I have a funny story about S&T and you in particular. So like everyone has their own style of driving, right? And correct me if I'm wrong, but you like to move the steering wheel. Every time I look at your data, like you're back and forth on the wheel, your lines are very up and down, up and down, right? Is that fair to say? I have choppy hands. That's the way I like to describe it. Yes. So whether you're tight or loose, it very much appears loose in data whenever you're looking at it, because typically that, or at least for me, whenever I'm driving, I, I'm more of like a, you know, hold the wheel

steady. And honestly, this is what hurt myself and Adam Stevens trying to get acclimated to each other in 2021 was, you know, my MO, my style, like, I'm not, I'm not that guy that's just going to be back and forth on the wheel, right? Like, I'm looking to hold a steady wheel. And if I'm loose, like, I'm still going to hold that steady wheel and my right foot's going to come up, right? And then you tighten the car up, my right foot's going to be down more and my hands are going to be steadier. I'm going to go faster. So, yeah, the S&T stuff, I feel like I take it well, but it is such a nice edge, right, where it can beat you up mentally too and really, you know, hurt your driver's performance if you don't have faith in them and believe in them. Well, I have, you have the

correct hands, buddy. You have the nice, smooth hands. I have those, those choppy hands that that everybody asked me why I chop on a wheel. And it's always a grip test. I don't know why. It's always been that way. But I look at the smoothness and the way that you drive the car. And I watch Kyle Arson this weekend, race at Indy, do everything that he's done to go back and forth with the indie car. And I feel like you're one of the versatile guys in the garage.

You could go get in a midget. You could go get in a sprint car. You could get in the Xfinity car. you could go drive anything that you wanted to. Is the Indy 500, is that double ever anything that you might be interested in? Does that sound fun, not sound fun? Because for me, I was like, I don't really want to hit anything that hard. In an Indy car, I don't want to find out what it's like to crash one of those things

and never had any interest. Where do you sit on that? Yeah, I mean, I would certainly love to do it. And growing up being an Open Wheel racer, like that's obviously a race and something that I have always wanted to do. but doing them both on the same day, like, I'm definitely not to that point in my career yet. And, you know, if I could get my cup deal going a little bit better where I'm more consistent weekend and week out and could feel confident enough, like putting focus into something as big as that, then, you know, maybe in the future, in the far out future, I would entertain doing both of them

on one day. But, you know, right now my, I want to become more of a legitimate weekend, week, week out contender in the Cup series before I even talk about attempting to do something else like that. Well, I think I think you'd do a great job at it. And, you know, I think you're on your, you're on your way to be in a, you know, a consistent winner. You already are. And that's the, that's the part that kind of frustrates me a little bit about some of the things that, like, even in our production meetings, like, well, I think, I think Bell is going to be in a top three today. Really, what gives you that indication? And I feel like that's some of the fans take on who you are. And I know we've talked about this before, but I know it has to frustrate you a little bit

because you always wind up digging out of a hole like you did this last time, or you're in the, playoffs. And I truly believe that you guys can win four or five races a year. I mean, do you feel that way? I mean, if you guys got it rolling and had everything in the right order? Kevin, I really do. And the thing that's been a little bit disheartening and disappointing for sure, is whenever we left 2022 and I made it to the final four, like going into the 2023 season, I felt like this is our year. Like we're going to do really good.

We just came off of a great playoff run. We're going to be a multi-time winner. And then we didn't do it in 2023. And then same thing. Like we go into 2023, the playoffs, everything starts clicking a lot better. And I'm very proud of that, by the way. Like in 22 and 23, our regular season wasn't great.

but we were able to persevere and we performed when it mattered the most and we made it to, you know, the championship event. But same thing. Like going into 2024, I felt like we have or I feel like we have the team and the tools to go out here and be a, you know, a five plus win a year person and team. But it still, it hasn't happened yet. So, yeah, I mean, that's what I'm focused on trying to get to. And I understand, you know, the fans' point of kind of overlooking me because I haven't done it yet.

And that's where I want to be, though. So talk to me about, we're going to get away from racing cup cars. Talk to me about your path. You know, you went the open-wheel route. You wound up in stock cars. If you could do it again, what would you say is the, what path would you choose from the time you were? eight years old until the time you got to cup. Tell me, tell me how you would lay that out now that you know what you know, the things that you like and didn't like about what you did to get to this

point, because I think it's interesting to hear, everybody's got a little bit different path. And I think it's interesting to hear, okay, now I need to get out of sprint cars or I need to get out of dirt cars and go over if I'm going to be a NASCAR driver. Tell me that path, how it happened and how you would lay it out perfectly for yourself today in today's world. Yeah, so I started out in Oklahoma, right, and there's no NASCAR racing at all. And I never in a million years thought I was going to be a NASCAR racer. I always thought that I was going to be a professional sprint car driver or late model driver or some sort of dirt racing.

And then I got into a midget car that was sponsored by Toyota. And they, the Toyota group ended up paying for some races, some late model races at Cowbush Motorsports to give me an opportunity. in the stock car world. And that's how I ended up, you know, in the stock car realm. But I'll be honestly, if I had it to do all over again, I would do it exactly the way that I did it with one change. And that's, I wouldn't, I would try to enjoy the moment more. And as a kid and even like talking to the kids that are coming up now that are, you know, just slightly behind me, like they're all worried about quote unquote making it and you know it and and i was too for a little bit

of it and and it's it's it's not the fun part is is making it the fun part is getting to where you're at and and for me i was so like focused on what am i doing next year you know i'm midget racing i'm sprint car racing like how am i going to progress like i would have i i wish i would have enjoyed the moment more and and focused on the now the present instead of, you know, worrying or being concerned about what's coming next. Yeah. There's a lot of pressure on the kids in today's world to, I mean, you lived it, right? You went through that whole program and we focused so much on just getting to where

you want to be instead of enjoying. And I think that's, I think that's great advice. When I look at the sprint car world, you know, I like racing. And I, you know, I know what we've talked about driving, I'm not driving them. But step back and just from a fan's perspective, where are we at from a high limits world of outlaw? How do you feel about that whole scenario? And is it right? Is it wrong?

Is it good? Is it bad? Because I love watching it, but I don't know where everybody's at in the middle of this, in the middle of this whole thing. Because, I mean, I like sprint car racing. Yeah, I mean, I think as a whole, sprint car racing is arguably the health. it's ever been. And certainly the most money that's ever been in the sport and the drivers are making the most money than they ever have. So I think that is a really good part of where the sports at. But, you know, I think that there's definitely positives and negatives to having two

national touring series going on that that has really divided the sprint car world. So, you know, I, I'm happy that there's a lot of money in the sport right now and the drivers are doing well. It seems like the teams are able to, you know, support themselves a little bit better. But, you know, I also see the other side of being a fan and having to, you know, you got your high limit drivers and your world of outlaw drivers and, you know, an outlaw field and a high limit field isn't what it was last year because they're competing against each other. I think there's positive and negatives in it for sure. Yeah. Well, as a race fan, there's definitely plenty of it to watch right now. And like you say, it's great for the racers from a financial standpoint. It's just going to be interesting to see how it all plays out as the, I guess, the newness wears off.

And some of those, you know, some of those races have to compete it against each other. So here's your tough question of the day. The last time I asked you this question, it was, it was, it was, it was, way out of whack and probably caught you guys a little bit off guard. So should Larson get a waiver? Oh man. Why are you got to put me on the spot, Kevin? So I'm going to give me my opinion first because that way, that way it doesn't have to just be yours. I do not like the waiver system. I love all of our competitors to death. I love the fact that Kyle Larson went and ran the ND 500. I think he should get a waiver.

I do, I absolutely despise the waiver system. I think if we're going to, I think if we had one drop race or something along that line where, you know, it's Eric Jones gets a concussion and wrecks and could take a week off and back in the car and doesn't lose anything, but the cars are at the race every week. But the waiver thing is just way out of whack in my opinion. Where do you stand on this? Yeah, I mean, I'll be honest. I really haven't put too much thought into it.

You know, I, I, I don't know. Not even, not even, not even on the Larson side. Let's just forget the Larson thing. Like, I think Kyle Busch got, you know, he got hurt in a car. I lost the championship to Kyle Busch. He missed seven or eight races. And, you know, so that body of, that body of work is different. Now, he did get hurt at a NASCAR race.

That makes it a little different. But I think, you know, and I'm a Chase Elliott fan too. I'm a fan of all of you guys. But Chase Elliott breaks his leg skiing. Is that, is that fair that the guys that are, out there racing and, you know, are there every week, you know, miss, you get beat by a guy that is, that is out snow skiing. So I just, I think it's an interesting debate because of the fact that, you know, it's just a, I view it as a full body of work. And if you were hurt,

you figured out how to get in a car, start the race, and then you got out. That was, that was how I went through it. And I just don't know if you guys in today's world view it that same way, because I just think that that's the way it always was. And I just, I don't like the waiver thing. and that probably doesn't help you get an answer. In other forms of motorsports, like there is this, like, I don't know, like, championship eligibility in other forms of motorsports, right? Like if it's a full points system and a driver takes the day off or gets hurt in an event and doesn't compete in an event, he just doesn't score points for that event.

And if he makes it up, he's still the champion. So, you know, I honestly don't, I don't know. I, that is a very, very, you did. It is a very hot topic and you have very valid points, very valid points. But I honestly, I'm too concerned about making this 20 car competitive at St. Louis this week. All right. Well, I'm going to ask you a harder question then. Since you can't answer the hard one, I don't think it is.

I don't think it would. Yeah. Who's more competitive? You or your wife? Oh, that's my wife, easily, easily. Okay. She, she, she's on me. worse than anybody. Worse than Adam is.

I love it because I can tell that she's intense and she's totally into what you're doing when we show different views of the pit box and stuff. But it's important. I mean, it's important to have somebody that pushes you that is honest with you. I had that with Delana and I think it seems like that with you.

I'm not like we don't personally know each other to that level, but it seems that way. Is that correct? That is 100% true. Yes, I swear to you, she gets more upset about the races than I do. So she holds me accountable. That's for sure. Yeah. Okay. Well, that's good. All right. Last question. Do you do anything besides race? Is there any hobby? Is there anything that you like to do outside of racing? Do you like, I mean, do, I mean, is there anything?

So Kevin, I tried to pick up golf. I tried to pick up golf. And I was in it for, I don't know, maybe a year or something. And it just, it wasn't for me. So I have my during. cars and I love tinkering all my dirt cars. So through the week, I'm out there doing that. I don't even race them a lot, but it's just fun to go out there and measure around, try different setups, see what it does to the right heights. And so that's my hobby, is dirt track racing. Buddy, I love your passion. I love everything that you do. You're going to win a lot of races. And I appreciate you taking the time today to just talk about your Coca-Cola 600 win. Good luck the rest of the year.

Thank you, Kevin. Have a good day. I want to thank Christopher Bell for taking the time this week to do that interview with us. It's always fun to catch up with our most recent winner. We want to encourage all the closers to follow us on YouTube or anywhere else that you catch your podcast or at Harvick Happy Pod anywhere on social media. See you next week.