Christopher Bell Drivin’ to Make It Back-to-Back Wins

Christopher Bell returns to Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison Ill., for Saturday’s Drivin’ for Linemen 200 as the defending race winner. Bell also enters the 160-lap event as the most recent winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, having narrowly edge Chase Briscoe in a photo finish at Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth last Friday night.

 

Last year’s win at the 1.25-mile oval helped the Oklahoma native secure his spot in the eight-driver field for the inaugural Truck Series Chase. Bell, who led twice for a total of 38 laps, cleared fellow Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Ben Rhodes through Turns 1 and 2 after a lap-158 restart and remained out front for the final two laps to secure his first NASCAR win on pavement.

 

This year, Bell has already secured his spot in the Truck Series playoffs having collected two wins in the first seven events of the season. He made history at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., in February when he became the first driver in one of NASCAR’s top three divisions to sweep all three stages of a race leading a race-high 99 laps en route to the victory. While on paper his victory last week at Texas was once again dominant, having led 92 of the final 98 laps, the end result was similar to last year’s Gateway win where he lost the lead late and then gained it back with a strong restart in the closing laps.

 

The talented wheelman sits second in the Truck Series championship standings after seven events, 40 tallies behind reigning champion Johnny Sauter. Bell does however lead NASCAR’s third division in wins (two), playoff points (13), poles (three), laps led (332) and fastest laps run (136) and is tied with Sauter atop the charts in top-five finishes (five) and top-10 finishes (six).

 

Bell will be looking to ring in victory number three of the season Saturday night at Gateway as he is drivin’ to make it back-to-back wins on the Truck Series schedule, as well as back-to-back trips to victory lane at the challenging 1.25-mile oval.

 

KBM PR