JGR crew chief shares surprising ‘behind the scenes’ similarities between Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch

Adam Stevens, the crew chief of the #20 team that Christopher Bell pilots, has also worked with Kyle Busch as his crew chief when he was piloting the #18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing. Speaking at the North Wilkesboro Speedway recently, which was the site of the NASCAR All-Star Race, Stevens shared how the two drivers have a lot in common in terms of their ethic, how they work with the team, and their mutual respect.

Christopher Bell joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2021, the second-to-last season of Busch's tenure with the team. Stevens moved from the #18 to the #20 during the off-season after 2020 and has been with Bell ever since. The crew chief has explained the similarities between the two Cup Series drivers.

“They’re probably more similar than people realize. Super hard working, knows what to shoulder, and what to put on other people’s shoulders, and is very fair about it. Bell’s the same way. Behind the scenes, the work they put in and their dedication, and their commitment to the team, very, very similar.”

Stevens also highlighted his respect for the two, as well as their mutual respect, which can be seen on the track.

“Utmost respect for both of them and how they do their work, and Bell came up through the Kyle Busch School to some degree. And I know that both of them have a lot of respect for each other, and they race each other that way.”

At this past weekend's All-Star event, Christopher Bell emerged triumphant in his #20 car, crossing the line at the Speedway with a margin of 0.829s to score victory. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch put in an eighth-place finish after starting from the same spot for the event.

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Why did Kyle Busch and Adam Stevens part ways?

Kyle Busch (right) and crew chief Adam Stevens (left) stand in the garage during the practice for the AAA 400 Drive For Autism at Dover International Speedway, June 2nd 2017 - Source: Imagn

After having worked together since 2015 and securing two championship titles together, Adam Stevens stepped away from his position as Kyle Busch's crew chief, starting from the 2021 season. At the time, Busch revealed that he had asked Stevens to make personnel changes to the #18 outfit, and with the two failing to agree on the decision, they decided to call it quits on their working relationship.

Speaking in February of 2021, the Cup Series champ said [via NASCAR]:

"I asked Adam for a couple changes to be made over the offseason, and he didn’t agree with my philosophy on those changes,” Busch said. “So he said you know what, I’m going to do something different and let you do something different and we’ll see what happens.'"

Since joining the #20 team, Adam Stevens and Christopher Bell have scored 12 wins so far, along with 47 Top-fives, and 82 Top 10s.