Christopher Bell has only been racing Late Models since late in the 2014 season, but it hasn’t taken long for the open-wheel dirt standout to find his favorite pavement track. Bell picked up his third victory in as many starts at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, N.C. on Saturday night, winning the CARS Super Late Model Tour Orange Blossom 300 for the second consecutive year. The Oklahoma native took the lead for the first time on lap 10 and remained out front the rest of the way, holding off fierce challenges from Raphael Lessard and Dalton Sargeant in the closing laps.
“Something was going on with the engine the last few laps and fortunately we were able to hold off Raphael (Lessard) and Dalton (Sargeant) — have to thank them both for racing me clean, they could’ve wrecked me but didn’t” Bell said. “Getting out front early was big for us tonight, it allowed us to control the pace of the race and then we were able to hold off those guys at the end to pick up the win. Have to thank Toyota, JBL and everyone at KBM for their support. It’s been a tough start to the season — getting a win feels really good and hopefully this is a sign that our luck has turned around.”
In October of 2014, in just his fourth career start in a Late Model, Bell outdueled second-generation driver John Hunter Nemechek in the PASS Super Late Model 150 at Orange County to pick up his first career victory in his transition to pavement. Last year, after missing driver introductions and having to start from the rear of the field, Bell led 109 of 150 laps en route to victory in the CARS Super Late Model Tour.
Saturday’s win was Bell’s first Late Model win across three starts in 2016 and his eighth across 25 career starts for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM). The win was the first for KBM under the direction of new crew chief Steve Strasburg.
The KBM Late Model team will be back in action Friday, April 29, with William Byron driving the No. 9 Liberty University Camry in the Deep South Crane Blizzard Series Super Late Model event at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla.
KBM PR
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