If Toyota ever returns to the IndyCar Series as an engine supplier, Christopher Bell would be one of the first to raise a hand if they wanted to take an existing driver under its umbrella to a one-off or the Indianapolis 500.
“Yeah, for sure,” Bell said on Friday prior to the NASCAR awards event in Downtown Charlotte. “If Toyota was interested in that, I would be raising my hand to do it. They haven’t been (just) a huge part of my career, they have been my career. They have literally taken me from childhood semi-professional or amateur racing all the way to the Cup Series so I would love that. I would love if they would do it, and I’d be the first one to raise my hand to do it.”
The 29-year-old has become one of the top NASCAR drivers over the past half decade with nine wins over 180 total starts at the highest Stock Car level.
Toyota is believed to have explored IndyCar’s next generation engine platform but nothing is imminent on that front. And Bell is saying that it isn’t something that would be feasible under another engine manufacturer but there is interest.
The natural comparison is to Kyle Larson, a driver that Bell has been linked to over a decade with their legendary battles at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and their shared dirt-to-Daytona career paths. For the longest time, former teammate Kyle Busch actively pursued a ride at the Indianapolis 500 but there were hurdles to clear with both Toyota and team owner Joe Gibbs and such a ride never materialized.
Larson made his Indianapolis debut this past May and contended for at least a top-10 before a late pit road speeding penalty derailed his race.
Toyota raced in the IRL IndyCar Series from 2003 to 2005 and was in CART prior to that. Those cars and engines still exist if Bell ever wanted to convince Toyota for a test drive too.
“Oh, I’m aware,” he said. “I’m well aware.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.
