Surgery sidelines Bell's crew chief Stevens

Christopher Bell will be without Adam Stevens for the foreseeable future as his crew chief recovers from surgery.

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Monday that Stevens underwent successful surgery for a double knee injury that occurred during a family vacation. Stevens will be off the road as the NASCAR Cup Series resumes its schedule this weekend at Richmond Raceway and other upcoming races. However, he will still be involved with Bell’s No. 20 team through the war room at the race shop.

“I hate that I won’t be at the track for a few weeks, but I will be fully engaged remotely,” Stevens said. “I am very thankful for the depth and strength of his 20 team and don’t anticipate my physical absence having any effect on our performance. The surgery went well, and I will be back at the track in a few weeks.”

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Stevens will be able to communicate with the team from the war room. He will also have all the necessary data and resources teams use during an event.

Chris Sherwood will be atop the pit box to assume the at-track crew chief responsibilities for Bell at Richmond and beyond. Sherwood is the team’s car chief.

Bell and Stevens were paired together in 2021. Stevens had missed one at-track event with the No. 20 team, which came in the fall of the ’21 season when he was suspended for a lug nut violation.

Bell is eighth in the Cup Series championship standings with four races left in the regular season. He is locked into the postseason with three victories.