In a statement released on Monday, Joe Gibbs Racing said Adam Stevens, crew chief for Bell’s No. 20 Toyota team suffered a double knee injury during a recent family vacation.
Stevens, who has worked with Bell since the 2021 season, underwent successful surgery to repair both knees and will work remotely “for a few weeks.”
Car chief Chris Sherwood will take over at-track crew chief responsibilities beginning with this weekend’s race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway while Stevens works from the “war room” at JGR headquarters.
“I hate that I won’t be at the track for a few weeks, but I will be fully engaged remotely. I am very thankful for the depth and strength of this No. 20 team and don’t anticipate my physical absence having any effect on our performance,” Stevens said.
“The surgery went well, and I will be back at the track in a few weeks.”
So far this season, Bell has three victories – Phoenix, Charlotte and New Hampshire – and is currently eighth in the series standings.
Together, the duo has won nine races and 11 poles with Bell advancing to the Championship 4 the last two seasons. His best series finish was third in 2022.
Bell has been very consistent at Richmond so far in his Cup career.
He has top-five and six top-10 finishes in eight career starts. In the spring race, Bell rebounded from a speeding penalty to finish sixth. Overall, he has finished sixth or better in six of the past seven races at the Virginia short track.
“Richmond is going to be a little bit different this time around with the option tire being introduced to points racing,” Bell said. “Nobody is quite sure how it’s going to go, but I’m sure we will learn a lot in our practice session on Saturday.”
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