Bell working with third spotter in a month at Atlanta

The number of voices continues to grow for Christopher Bell. Now it’s the one from above a NASCAR racetrack in the spotter’s stand.

Saturday night at EchoPark Speedway, Bell will work with a new spotter – the third he’s had in the last month. Tab Boyd, an industry veteran who worked with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. until he was released following the Mexico City event, is on the roster for Bell and Joe Gibbs Racing.

“It’s going to be tough,” Bell said of trying to get acclimated to Boyd leading into Saturday night’s race. “I’ve listened to Tab on our replay system, but aside from that, that’s all we’ve got. It’s going to be tough getting acclimated at probably one of the most spotter-intense racetracks on the calendar, but Tab has a bunch of experience.

“We’ll play it by ear, and definitely the first stage or two is going to be a learning curve.”

Bell started the year with Stevie Reeves. The two worked together for the majority of Bell’s career, but after the All-Star Race, Reeves left his post. When the circuit arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway at the end of May for the Coca-Cola 600, there was little confirmed, or at least publicly known, about why the relationship ended.

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Bell offered at the time that, “It was all Stevie’s decision. He made the decision on his own to quit, and that’s all I’m going to say.”

Matt Philpott, a former mechanic for Joe Gibbs Racing, assumed the role. Philpott was relatively new at the job, but was on the spotter’s stand for the Daytona 500 with Martin Truex Jr. He began doing more in the Xfinity Series as the year progressed before joining Bell’s team.

“I’m super thankful for Philpott jumping in when he did in the heart of our schedule, which was super, super tough,” Bell said. “He did a great job for us, and we’re thankful for him. WhenTab became available, it made sense to add some experience to our team as we get closer to the playoffs and hopefully contend for a championship.”

Reeves was in Bell’s ear for the last time on May 18. Philpott’s stint went from May 25 to June 22.

Bell admitted it’s been “different” to have so many voices in his ear in such a short span of time.

“When Philpott came in … he got some dealt some really tough racetracks between Charlotte, Pocono, Michigan, where restarts are really, really heavy,” Bell said. “It was definitely a transition. Obviously, going to Atlanta with Tab is going to be another transition. I don’t know. I can promise it’s been tough and probably as tough as you can assume it would be.”