JOLIET, Il. — Christopher Bell has hit one of two important milestones in his recovery from a fractured left wrist sustained at Michigan International Speedway. Now, he aims to reach another before the Brickyard 400.
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The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has worn a cast since a crash at Michigan, which NASCAR rated as the hardest of the Gen 7 era, as part of the recovery process. However, he ditched it for Chicagoland Speedway and replaced it with a splint.
"I think it's pretty much on schedule," Bell told media members on Saturday afternoon. "The goal was to be out of the cast for Chicago, and I don't have a cast on my arm anymore, so that's really good.
"But honestly, the cast, the splint, I can wear a normal fire suit, which is nice, and I can wear close to my normal glove, which is nicer, but my mobility of my wrist is still, you know, the same as it would be in a cast."
Joe Gibbs Racing had to make adjustments to Bell's cockpit setup after the brutal Michigan crash. They moved some switches to where he could reach them with his right hand, and they put a smaller steering wheel into the No. 20 Toyota.
Losing the cast doesn't mean that Bell will automatically be able to go back to his normal setup inside the car. He said his ability to drive the car is still "clunky" and that he can't be quick and precise with his movements.
He still needs to regain some of his mobility, which will mark the second important milestone in his recovery.
Christopher Bell met with us today and answered some questions about ditching the cast for the splint and his current recovery timeline.
Chicagoland and North Wilkesboro are both big milestones in this process. pic.twitter.com/IIM8bFUhhO— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) July 4, 2026
"I mean, it's just gonna be whenever I can race with, you know, freedom and not have my wrist taped up and locked down," Bell said. "So I was hopeful that that would be North Wilkesboro, and I think it'll either be Wilkesboro or (Indianapolis)."
North Wilkesboro will host its first points-paying race in decades on July 19. Indianapolis Motor Speedway will then host the Brickyard 400 on July 26.
Another race actually takes place before the series heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway. The Cup teams will head to EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta) for some mini-superspeedway racing.
This race will feature Bell making a precautionary move due to the likelihood of high-speed crashes.
"Atlanta, I think we're going to take a step backwards and go back to a cast for Atlanta, just with the nature of the beast there, and make sure that I have the maximum protection that I can have," Bell said.
Once Atlanta is complete, Bell can look forward to hitting his next recovery milestone.
