Adam Stevens (Double Knee Surgery) Out as Christopher Bell Crew Chief for a Few Weeks

Adam Stevens will not be atop the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing pit box in this weekend's NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, and for a few weeks. According to a statement from Joe Gibbs Racing's weekly team preview, the 37-time race-winning crew chief suffered a double knee injury while enjoying a vacation with his family. The injuries required double knee surgery.

While Stevens, who hails from Portsmouth, OH, will not travel with the team to the track while he recovers, he will remain a fixture at the Joe Gibbs Racing shop and will be in the JGR war room during the race weekend, where he'll assist Chris Sherwood, the team's car chief, in making race day calls.

Stevens says while he wishes he could be at the track this weekend, his surgery was a success and he doesn't anticipate his absence impacting the team's performance due to the virtual tools at his disposal.

“I hate that I won’t be at the track for a few weeks, but I will be fully engaged remotely,” said Stevens. “I am very thankful for the depth and strength of this 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.”

Stevens will miss at least the next two NASCAR Cup Series events as Sherwood is listed as the crew chief in the NASCAR Roster Portal for Bell and the No. 20 team for Michigan International Speedway as well.

While Sherwood is well-versed on how race weekends go for the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team, the Portsmouth, VA native car chief has never served as a crew chief in the NASCAR National Series ranks.

Sherwood's lack of experience as a crew chief is a stark difference to Stevens, who is one of the top crew chiefs in the sport today. With Stevens atop the box, Christopher Bell has scored nine NASCAR Cup Series wins and the duo have made the Championship 4 in each of the last two seasons.

Additionally, Stevens won the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series championship as the crew chief for Kyle Busch. That title came at the end of a four-year consecutive streak of making it into the Championship 4.

Through the opening 22 races of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season Bell and Stevens have combined to win three races. Those wins came at Phoenix Raceway, the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and a dampened race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Sherwood will look to keep the results churning in Stevens' at-track absence.

Photo Credit: Craig White, TobyChristie.com