Bell began his racing career in karting, progressing through the Skip Barber Racing School, Formula Dodge, and the Barber Dodge Pro Series. He transitioned to Indy Lights in 2000, culminating in a championship win in 2001. This earned him two late-season starts in the Champ Car series, a joint effort between Patrick Racing and Dale Coyne Racing.
In 2002, Bell secured a full-time ride with Patrick Racing, replacing Roberto Moreno. He achieved a best finish of fourth at Portland, but a series of disappointing results and two probation sanctions issued by CART Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach Sr. led to his release from the team after nine races.
Bell shifted his focus to Europe in 2003, competing in the International F3000 series alongside Björn Wirdheim. He became the first American to reach a Formula 3000 podium, finishing third at the Hungaroring, and ultimately finished ninth overall in a competitive field that included future Formula One drivers Giorgio Pantano, Patrick Friesacher, Vitantonio Liuzzi, and Nicolas Kiesa. Bell’s performance in F3000 led to Formula One test opportunities with Jaguar and BAR Honda.
Despite a test with British American Racing, Bell returned to America in 2004, joining Panther Racing in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. He achieved a best finish of fifth. He filled in for Tomáš Enge in 2005, starting one race. Bell made his Indianapolis 500 debut in 2006 for Vision Racing, qualifying fifteenth and finishing 22nd. He returned to the IndyCar Series in 2008, driving the No. 23 car in events where Milka Duno was not scheduled to race, earning an eighth-place finish at Richmond International Raceway. He also qualified twelfth and finished tenth in the Indy 500 that year.
In 2009, KV Racing Technology entered Bell in the Indy 500, engineered by Gerald Tyler. Starting 24th, Bell advanced to finish fourth, passing Will Power of Team Penske on the last restart. In 2011, racing for Sam Schmidt Motorsports with Tyler as his engineer, Bell qualified fourth for the Indianapolis 500. He finished ninth in the 2012 Indianapolis 500, again with Sam Schmidt Motorsports and Tyler engineering.
The 2016 Indy 500 saw Bell qualify fourth and lead twelve laps for Andretti Autosport, but an incident on pit road during a caution period relegated him to a 21st-place finish. During that race week, he clocked a top speed of 241.637 mph.
Bell transitioned to sports car racing in 2012, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring on his debut with Alex Job Racing. He drove a Lotus Evora GTE for Alex Job Racing in the American Le Mans Series with Bill Sweedler, before switching to a Ferrari F458 Italia with West/AJR the following year. He matched his Sebring success with a win in the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona, driving with Level 5 Motorsports. That same year, Bell and Sweedler won the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup with AIM Autosport, finishing first or second in three of the four endurance races and fourth overall in the GT Daytona class points.
Bell and Sweedler continued their partnership, winning the 2015 IMSA GT Daytona Championship, including a dominant win at VIR and podium finishes at Sebring and Le Mans. In 2016, Bell, Jeff Segal, and Bill Sweedler won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Bell competed full-time in the 2017 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona class with Alex Job Racing in an Audi R8 GT3 and returned to Le Mans with Ferrari. He most recently competed in the AIM Vasser-Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 for the 2019 & 2020 GTD class seasons.
Since 2025, Bell has worked as a color commentator for FOX Sports, alongside Will Buxton and James Hinchcliffe. He has also provided Formula One coverage on NBC, filling in for Will Buxton at the 2016 races in Sepang and Mexico City. Bell has also served as a color commentator for NBC Sports’ Global RallyCross Championship and competed in, and commented on, Stadium Super Trucks. He competed in Global Rallycross at the 2013 X-Games in Munich, finishing sixth in the final.
[unverified] A comprehensive study of Bell's career trajectory and its impact on American motorsport is available in Stewart's autobiography.
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