NASCAR star Christopher Bell has insisted that he plans to complete Sunday's Cup Series race at Sonoma.

The broken wrist he sustained at Michigan earlier in the month saw him vacate the No. 20 at the first caution last weekend at San Diego, being replaced by O'Reilly Series teenager Brent Crews.

Bell insisted that the decision wasn't an issue of pain tolerance, rather one of 'risk management' around the tight streets at Coronado Naval Base, flanked by concrete barriers.

The Joe Gibbs Racing star told media on Sunday that he's feeling no pain from the injury while in the car, and that he's looking forward to moving from a full cast to some kind of brace.

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Bell: I wanted to race at San Diego

On his pre-planned decision to exit last Sunday's race early, he explained: “Last week, after driving the car, I felt really, really good in the car through practice, and then even in the start of the race, I felt really well.

"I wanted to race, but the team around me felt pretty committed just going down the avenue of risk management at San Diego, with the tight confines of the concrete walls around you all the way around. So yeah, opted to sit out that one, and I feel I’m not getting out of this one.”

“By the time we got to San Diego, I didn’t have any pain at all driving the car,” Bell added. “I feel very clunky and very unorthodox with the cast on my arm and not being able to just move the wheel as quickly and as sharply as I am accustomed to, but I don’t really have any pain.

"I felt really comfortable in the car last week at San Diego. Through our simulator sessions here at Sonoma, been the same thing. I don’t think I can drive as well as I can without a cast, but it doesn’t hurt me to drive, so that’s really good.

“I think the natural transition will be to go from a cast to some sort of brace. It’ll be a little bit before I have freedom again, but hopefully the days of the cast are dwindling down, which I’m excited about.”

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