Dirt racer shows he can get it done on pavement at Iowa
NEWTON, Iowa -- Christopher Bell said he didn't come to Iowa Speedway with any expectations for his first career start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. But he sure left with them after finishing fifth in Friday's American Ethanol 200 Presented by Enogen.
Despite not having much experience on pavement, the 20-year-old Bell drove the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota right up front with stars such as race-winner Erik Jones and two-time defending champion Matt Crafton.
It was the culmination of a one-day show that also included Bell finishing second to Jones in the lone practice session and putting together a qualifying run of 10th.
"The only goal was to be able to finish the race," Bell said on pit road afterward. "To come home top five is unbelievable and something I will be proud of for awhile."
He'll have time to savor the Iowa performance because Bell said this was the only Truck race scheduled for him this year. He'll go back to driving for KBM's Late Model team, where he began his pavement career in September.
Since then Bell has compiled five victories in Late Models. He prepared for his Truck Series debut by running two K&N Pro Series races earlier this season, including one at Iowa Speedway in which he finished fifth after starting 18th.
Before taking up pavement racing, the Norman, Oklahoma native won the 2013 USAC National Midget championship on dirt. In 2014, he compiled 26 feature wins on dirt, including the Turkey Night Grand Prix USAC Midget race in Perris, California -- an event that Tony Stewart won in 2000.
But with such a short resume on pavement, Bell said he needed to call team owner Kyle Busch on the way over to the track and ask him for some advice.
"This is my first time ever on radial tires," Bell said. "That was probably one of the things I was most nervous for coming in here was never running these tires. So he gave me some pointers there."
Apparently, the advice worked, because Bell moved up from 17th after Lap 50 into the top five for the race's final 50 laps. From there, he was rock-solid through to the end, seemingly satisfied with an unlikely top-five finish.
"Obviously being in a KBM truck definitely puts a lot of pressure on you because they're expected to run good and they do have really nice trucks," Bell said. "The truck's probably a little better than the driver tonight, but I'm just really thankful to be here and hopefully I'll get some more opportunities."
Humble as that may sound, Bell's Truck debut registered as more than a blip on the radar in Iowa and won't be easy to forget.
"It's was a dream come true," Bell said. "Every short-track driver in the United States wants to run in NASCAR."