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Christopher Bell confronts John Hunter Nemechek for pit road discussion after Texas

JHby: Jonathan Howard05/04/25Jondean25
Christopher Bell Texas NASCAR
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Following the finish at Texas Motor Speedway, John Hunter Nemechek and Christopher Bell had a heated discussion on pit road. Nemechek finished P8 with Bell right behind him in P9. Apparently, the two NASCAR drivers and Toyota teammates did not see eye-to-eye.

Today was the second-best finish of the season for John Hunter Nemechek. Legacy Motor Club has definitely struggled this season. This is also his first top-10 finish since Atlanta in Week 2 of the season.

So, what was Nemechek so upset about? That remains unclear in this video, but it is clear these two are not seeing things the same way.

Whatever the discussion is, it doesn’t seem too out of hand. I think Christopher Bell is likely upset with something John Hunter Nemechek did. It appears that JHN is explaining himself more to Bell than vice versa.

This race ended with a few surprise drivers in the top-10, and Joey Logano in Victory Lane. Legacy Motor Club picks up two top-10 finishes on the day, with Erik Jones finishing P5 overall. That is his best finish on a non-drafting track since Kansas-2 in 2023. Really good day for that group overall.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Dillon were both in the top-10 as well in this race. Daniel Suárez picked up a top-10 finish, his second in a row. This is the first time he’s had multiple top-10s in a row since Indy, Richmond, and Michigan in 2024.

Christopher Bell looking for winning speed again

I hate to nitpick a driver who has four top-10s and two top-fives in the last five races, but I’m going to. Christopher Bell has not been the same driver he was in the first month of the season. That’s not exactly surprising. We have seen teams and drivers start hot in the Next Gen era and cool off as the rest of the field catches up.

Bell is still in this weird place. He is a Championship 4 contender every season now. People expect it of him at this point. But is he Joe Gibbs Racing’s top driver? The argument can be made the last few years that he has been. Yet, it still feels like he hasn’t taken that next step.

These next six or seven should be great for Bell. These are tracks: Kansas, Charlotte, Nashville, Michigan, Pocono, and Atlanta – where Bell should excel. This team has to unleash that early-season speed once again with so many intermediate tracks on the schedule coming up.

I’m not sure what Christopher Bell was upset about. It appears that John Hunter Nemechek did something to block him or mess with him on the track. Both drivers will move on, take the top-10 finishes, and head to Kansas. I don’t expect this to be a lingering issue.