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Christopher Bell (racing driver)

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Christopher Bell
File:ChristopherBellKansas2017VictoryXfinity.jpg
Bell in victory lane after the 2017 Kansas Lottery 300
Born (1994-12-16) December 16, 1994 (age 29)
Norman, Oklahoma
Achievements2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion
2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Regular Season Champion
2013 USAC National Midget Champion
2014 BMARA Champion
2014, 2017 Turkey Night Grand Prix winner
2013 Belleville Midget Nationals Champion
2017, 2018 Chili Bowl Nationals Champion
2015 Eldora Mudsummer Classic Winner
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
37 races run over 2 years
Car no., teamNo. 20 (Joe Gibbs Racing)
2017 position91st
Best finish91st (2017)
First race2017 Hisense 4K TV 300 (Charlotte)
Last race2024 National Debt Relief 250 (Martinsville)
First win2017 Kansas Lottery 300 (Kansas)
Last win2018 Bar Harbor 200 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles
7 24 5
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
54 races run over 4 years
Truck no., teamNo. 51 (Kyle Busch Motorsports)
2017 position1st
Best finish1st (2017)
First race2015 American Ethanol 200 (Iowa)
Last race2018 UNOH 200 (Bristol)
First win2015 Mudsummer Classic (Eldora)
Last win2017 UNOH 175 (Loudon)
Wins Top tens Poles
7 41 6
NASCAR Canada Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2017 position48th
Best finish48th (2017)
First race2017 Can-Am 200 (Mosport)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of October 6, 2018.

Christopher Bell (born December 16, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver. A Toyota development driver,[1] he currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 51 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He is the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion.

Racing career

Early career and dirt track racing

Bell's USAC midget at Angell Park Speedway in 2013

Bell began his racing career in micro sprints at I-44 Riverside Speedway in the early 2000s. He earned the Lucas Oil ASCS2 Championship in 2010 before winning the 66 Mike Phillips Memorial micro-sprint car race in 2011. The following year, he finished second in the Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway, a race sanctioned by the American Sprint Car Series.[2] In 2013, he joined Keith Kunz Motorsports in USAC racing, replacing Kyle Larson.[3] On October 31, he joined CH Motorsports' sprint car racing program.[4] Bell concluded 2013 as the USAC National Midget Champion. In 2014, he began racing asphalt Super Late Models for Kyle Busch Motorsports,[5] including competing in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. On May 7, he won his first career WoO Sprint Car Series race at Jacksonville Speedway.[6] As a Super Late Model driver, he won races at New Smyrna Speedway, South Alabama Speedway and Southern National Motorsports Park.[5] During the year, he won 24 Quarter Midget races[7] and 26 total dirt races, including the Turkey Night Grand Prix.[8]

In 2017, Bell won the Chili Bowl Nationals, becoming the first Oklahoman to win the event since Andy Hillenburg in 1994. [9]

Finishing up the 2017 season, Christopher Bell Adds One More 2017 Win With The Tulsa Shootout in the Winged Outlaw Division [10]

In 2018 he claimed his second consecutive Chili Bowl Golden Driller trophy win.

Bell followed the 2017 Chili Bowl win with his third consecutive Turnpike Challenge victory, the most recent win coming at home town track I-44 Riverside Speedway in Oklahoma City.

NASCAR

In 2015, Bell made two NASCAR K&N Pro Series West starts at Irwindale Speedway and Iowa Speedway, driving the No. 54 for Bill McAnally Racing; he finished 15th and second, respectively.[11] In June, Bell returned to Iowa to make his Camping World Truck Series debut for KBM in the American Ethanol 200.[5] Bell finished second to KBM teammate Erik Jones in the race's practice session, and finished fifth in the race.[8] On July 8, Bell was announced as Justin Boston's replacement in the No. 54 at Kentucky Speedway.[12] Bell won his first career Truck race in the Mudsummer Classic at Eldora Speedway after holding off Bobby Pierce on the green–white–checker finish.[1][13]

On October 29, 2015, KBM announced that Bell would compete full-time in the Truck Series in 2016.[14] His season started on a terrifying note at Daytona, when on the final lap, Brandon Brown pushed Timothy Peters into him causing his truck to spin. His truck gripped the track, causing it to go on two wheels before it launched into the air and barrel rolled multiple times.[15] The following week at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bell was leading the race on his way to win, when he blew a tire and crashed into the wall, ending his day.[16]

In 2017, Bell won the second race of the season at Atlanta after winning the first two stages and passing Matt Crafton for the lead with 16 laps remaining.[17] In May, Bell made his NASCAR Pinty's Series and Xfinity Series debuts; in the former, he drove the No. 22 for 22 Racing at the season-opening race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.[18] In the latter, he joined the No. 18 of Joe Gibbs Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway as part of a seven-race schedule. He will also drive the No. 20 at Iowa and Richmond International Raceway before returning to the No. 18 to drive at Kansas Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.[19] At Mosport, he was the lone American in the field as he finished 23rd after suffering a brake failure.[20]

Bell's No. 18 Xfinity car at Road America in 2017

In his Xfinity debut, Bell got an impressive 4th-place finish despite being spun out early in the race by Ryan Reed. During his second start at Iowa, Bell won the pole and looked to be on track for his 1st career win already. Unfortunately, he was caught up in a multi car crash late when he got turned while leading by the lap car of Ross Chastain following a crash between the lapped cars of Ryan Reed and Brennan Poole which collected Bell and Chastain. The previous night, in the Truck race, he was also on track for a win but dropped back late and finished 5th. At Kentucky Bell recovered from an early spin and outraced John Hunter Nemechek and Brandon Jones for his third truck win of the season and 5th of his career. Bell won his first Xfinity race in his 5th start at Kansas after catching and passing Erik Jones in the final laps. On November 17, Bell won the 2017 Truck Series Championship by finishing 2nd to his friend Chase Briscoe. Bell held off other Championship 4 Contenders Johnny Sauter, Austin Cindric and Matt Crafton. Bell ended his Truck Series season with 5 wins, 15 top 5s, and 21 top tens to win the championship.

Bell's No. 20 Xfinity car at Dover International Speedway in 2018

In 2018, Bell moved to the Xfinity Series full-time to drive the No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing. Bell won his first race of the season at Richmond in April, holding off teammate Noah Gragson.[21] In July, Bell won three consecutive races at Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Iowa, becoming the first series regular since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 1999 to win three consecutive races.[22] Bell entered the Xfinity Series playoffs by winning at Richmond in September for the season sweep of the track. With this win, Bell would advance to the next round of the playoffs.[23] Bell won his sixth race of the season at Dover in October, setting a rookie win record in the Xfinity Series.[24]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts
2017 Joe Gibbs Racing 18 Toyota DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL CLT
4 		DOV POC MCH ROA
19 		DAR KAN
1 		TEX
6 		PHO
4 		91st 01
20 IOW
16* 		DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI RCH
6 		CHI KEN DOV CLT HOM
36
2018 DAY
39 		ATL
3 		LVS
2 		PHO
4 		CAL
21 		TEX
2 		BRI
29 		RCH
1* 		TAL
12 		DOV
4 		CLT
3 		POC
36 		MCH
11 		IOW
2 		CHI
12 		DAY
3 		KEN
1 		NHA
1* 		IOW
1 		GLN
9 		MOH
11 		BRI
2 		ROA
23 		DAR
34 		IND
7 		LVS
4 		RCH
1 		CLT
5 		DOV
1* 		KAN TEX PHO HOM -* -*

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NCWTC Pts
2015 Kyle Busch Motorsports 51 Toyota DAY ATL MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX GTW IOW
5 		27th 231
54 KEN
17 		ELD
1* 		POC MCH BRI MSP CHI NHA LVS
14 		TAL
13 		MAR TEX
8 		PHO HOM
25
2016 4 DAY
16 		ATL
26 		MAR
19 		KAN
4 		DOV
3 		CLT
8 		TEX
32 		IOW
9 		GTW
1 		KEN
4 		ELD
2 		POC
10 		BRI
7* 		MCH
24 		MSP
5 		CHI
4 		NHA
2 		LVS
6 		TAL
6 		MAR
4 		TEX
11 		PHO
7 		HOM
8 		3rd 4025
2017 DAY
8 		ATL
1* 		MAR
3* 		KAN
4 		CLT
3 		DOV
25 		TEX
1* 		GTW
6 		IOW
5* 		KEN
1* 		ELD
9 		POC
1 		MCH
2 		BRI
7 		MSP
26 		CHI
3 		NHA
1* 		LVS
2* 		TAL
2 		MAR
8 		TEX
3 		PHO
8* 		HOM
2 		1st 4035
2018 51 DAY ATL LVS MAR DOV KAN CLT TEX IOW GTW CHI KEN ELD POC MCH BRI
28 		MSP LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM -* 01*

K&N Pro Series West

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NKNPSWC Pts Ref
2015 Bill McAnally Racing 54 Toyota KCR IRW
15 		TUS IOW
2 		SHA SON SLS IOW EVG CNS MER AAS PHO 32nd 71 [25]
2018 Bill McAnally Racing 60 Toyota KCR TUS TUS OSS CNS SON DCS IOW EVG GTW LVS
10 		MER AAS KCR * * [26]

Pinty's Series

NASCAR Pinty's Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Rank Pts Ref
2017 22 Racing 22 Dodge MOS
23 		DEL CHA ICA TOR WYA WYA EDM TRO RIV MOS STE JUK 48th 21 [27]

ARCA Racing Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ARSC Pts
2016 Venturini Motorsports 66 Toyota DAY NSH SLM
1* 		TAL TOL 25th 1085
15 NJE
10 		POC MCH MAD WIN IOW IRP POC
7 		BLN ISF DSF SLM
1 		CHI
3 		KEN KAN
2017 25 DAY NSH SLM TAL TOL ELK POC MCH MAD IOW IRP POC WIN ISF ROA DSF SLM CHI
1 		KEN KAN 72nd 240

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

  1. ^ a b Utter, Jim (July 23, 2015). "It's only the beginning for Christopher Bell". motorsport.com. motorsport.com. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  2. ^ Fenwick, Adam. "Bell Lands Kunz USAC Midget Ride". National Speed Sport News. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  3. ^ Weaver, Matt (July 15, 2015). "Toyota hopes to keep young NASCAR stars Erik Jones and Christopher Bell in the fold". Autoweek. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  4. ^ Elliott, Jeremy (October 31, 2013). "Young phenom Chris Bell joins CH Motorsports for 35 to 40 races". The Patriot-News. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Weaver, Matt (June 10, 2015). "Christopher Bell to make NASCAR truck series debut with Toyota". Autoweek. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  6. ^ "Bell Earns First Victory". World of Outlaws. May 7, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  7. ^ Christley, Jason (February 21, 2015). "Bell Outruns Burton For New Smyrna Victory". NASCAR Home Tracks. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Winkler, George (June 19, 2015). "Christopher Bell Scores Top Five in Truck Debut". NASCAR. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  9. ^ Associated Press (January 15, 2017). "Trucks series driver Christopher Bell wins Chili Bowl main race". USA Today. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  10. ^ https://www.floracing.com/articles/6070142-christopher-bell-adds-one-more-2017-win-with-the-tulsa-shootout
  11. ^ "2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  12. ^ Fesko, Sean (July 8, 2015). "MID-SEASON SWAP: CHRISTOPHER BELL REPLACES JUSTIN BOSTON AT KENTUCKY". Frontstretch. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  13. ^ Long, Dustin (July 22, 2015). "Christopher Bell turns in Classic performance to win Eldora Truck race". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  14. ^ Utter, Jim (October 29, 2015). "Kyle Busch Motorsports' 2016 lineup to feature several newcomers". Motorsport.com. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  15. ^ Olsen, Jeff (February 19, 2016). "Christopher Bell being evaluated after scary flips in Daytona Truck race". USA Today. Daytona Beach, Florida. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  16. ^ "Blown Tire Ends Bell's Bid for Victory at Atlanta". Kyle Busch Motorsports. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  17. ^ Associated Press (March 4, 2017). "Christopher Bell dominates in Truck Series win at Atlanta". USA Today. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  18. ^ "Christopher Bell to compete in Pinty's Series season opener". Motorsport.com. May 11, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  19. ^ "Christopher Bell driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in 7 XFINITY race". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  20. ^ "2017 Can-Am 200". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  21. ^ Pistone, Pete (April 20, 2018). "Bell Gets First Win of Season". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  22. ^ Staff (July 28, 2018). "Bell Wins Third Straight". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  23. ^ Pistone, Pete (September 21, 2018). "Bell Strikes First in Playoffs". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  24. ^ Pistone, Pete (October 6, 2018). "Bell Scores Sixth Win". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  25. ^ "Christopher Bell – 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  26. ^ "Christopher Bell – 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  27. ^ "Christopher Bell – 2017 NASCAR Pinty's Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christopher Bell.
Sporting positions
Preceded by NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion
2017 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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