"It is very difficult": Christopher Bell shares his insight into preparing for 'no joke' NASCAR crown jewel

Last season's Coke 600 winner Christopher Bell recently shed light on how he prepares for such a challenging race. The Coca Cola 600 or Coke 600, which takes place on the Charlotte Motor Speedway, is the longest race in NASCAR by distance (600 miles).

Coke 600 is one of the few crown jewels in the sport, one which Christopher Bell ended up winning in 2024 after the rain cut short the race. This season, with the crown jewel race only a week away, Bell was asked in North Wilkesboro about his preparations for racing 600 miles.

"600 miles is no joke, and it is very difficult to stay focus and make sure that your body is in good condition to be able to compete at the end of that race. It is a really big event. It is a long event, and definitely one that you have to prepare for. You can’t just show up and run, so I’m very excited about it because the track itself is a ton of fun to race on, and hopefully, we get good weather, it stays dry, and we get all 600 miles in this year," he described.

As for what it means to win the crown jewel race, Christopher Bell claimed it is 'a really big deal.' He admitted that his win, which came as a result of the rain, soured the experience for him a little because he wanted to win it by running the entire 600 miles.

Having said that, he remarked how Charlotte has been a 'great track' for him in the Next Gen era as he elaborated:

"I’ve been really, really strong. My team has done really good, so it is an honor to be able to compete in that event. The way the whole weekend is celebrated there at Charlotte Motor Speedway is special. They do such a good job of making it feel like it is a big event because it is a big event."

Bell hoped to win two more Coke 600s in his career, adding to the legacy of the iconic fixture.

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Christopher Bell was taken aback by his first crown jewel win at Charlotte last season

In 2024's Coke 600, the race, originally scheduled to run 400 laps, was cut short to 249 because of rain. And since Christopher Bell was the driver in front when the red flag was dropped, he was deemed the winner.

This turned out to be Bell's first crown jewel win of his career. But it was one that he didn't expect to come when it did.

"We didn't know if we were going to go back racing or not, but after the rain stopped, I thought for sure we were going back racing. I think everybody did. So that one caught me by total surprise when they called the race," he said after his win.

Bell mentioned that winning the Coke 600 'feels so good.' He recalled how he had a chance of winning the race in the 2022 and the 2023 season, but he wasn't able to.

The #20 driver remarked that winning the Coke 600 came as a welcome sigh of relief as it broke the slump he'd been in leading up to the event.