Christopher Bell is one of the best NASCAR drivers in 2025, establishing himself as a championship contender this season with the most wins in the Cup Series right now. However, ahead of the Coca-Cola 60 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing replaced spotter Stevie Reeves with Matt Philpott.
Appearing on Friday’s episode of the Door, Bumper, Clear podcast, host Freddie Kraft shared that Reeves ‘quit’ his role as the spotter for the No. 20 car. Then, Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic shed more light on what led to Reeves stepping down as Bell’s crew chief following the All-Star Race this past Sunday.
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“I understand that he quit. He did quit now, but this decision goes back further than that. I’ve been told by people involved in it that Stevie Reeves had been told that at the end of the year, they were going to be parting ways. Stevie knew this and just said, ‘If that’s the case, I’m out and I’m out now.’..I was told that while this Stevie’s decision, technically now, the decision had kinda already made for him that at the end of the season they were going to part ways.”
Jordan Bianchi on why Stevie Reeves stepped down as Christopher Bell’s spotter
- Christopher Bell stats: 384 points, 3 wins, 8 top 10s, 6 top 5s, 1 pole, 2 DNFs, 142 laps led, 11.167 average finishing position in 12 races
The decision to split reportedly had nothing to do with Reeves’ relationship with Bell. Instead, per Kraft, it was more about the relationship between the spotter and the team. So, following Bell’s victory at the All-Star race, Reeves officially stepped down from the position.
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It’s not the only significant change in the spotter stand ahead of the Coca-Cola 600. Todd Brewer is taking over as Brad Keselowski’s spotter for Sunday’s race, filling in for T.J. Majors. During an appearance on the Dale Jr. Download, Spotter shared that he would be out of action for a month following a medical procedure.
Reeves had been with Bell since he made his Cup Series debut in 2020 (20 races). Together, they won 12 races in the Cup Series from 2021-’25. Entering Sunday’s Race, Bell has the fifth-highest average finishing position (10.0), the fourth-most laps led (138) and is tied for the most top-5s (two) at Charlotte Motor Speedway since 2022, per DriverAverages.com.
