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Bell Victorious at Iowa

Bell Victorious at Iowa

Bell Victorious at Iowa

RACE: CircultCity.com 250
TRACK: Iowa Speedway
START: 2nd
FINISH: 1st
LAPS: 125

Bell finished a dominating day in Iowa in victory lane.

Bell Victorious at Iowa

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60)

  • For the third week in a row Christopher Bell earned the second qualifying position.
  • The No. 20 Ruud Supra fired off a little loose and Bell spent a majority of the first Stage right on the heels of the leader.
  • Under a caution late in the Stage Bell came down pit road for four tires, fuel, wedge and air pressure adjustments.
  • Bell restarted eighth with four laps remaining in Stage 1 but charged to the front and took over the lead with one lap remaining to win the first Stage.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 68-120)

  • Bell started first, finished first.
  • Stage 2 went caution free and Bell dominated, leading every lap to claim the Stage win.
  • At the Stage break Bell pitted for four tires, fuel and another small chassis adjustment. With a fast pit stop by his crew he came off pit road first.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 129-250)

  • Bell started first, finished first.
  • Bell’s domination continued into the final Stage as he extended his lead.
  • Under caution on lap 218 the No. 20 Ruud team made their final pit stop of the day for four tires and fuel. The No. 00 narrowly beat Bell off pit road to take the lead for the ensuing restart.
  • On lap 222 the field took the green flag with Bell in second, but by lap 224 he had regained the lead and never looked back.
  • A late-race caution closed the gap Bell had gained on the field, but when green flag racing resumed with 10-laps remaining the No. 20 Ruud Supra charged ahead.
  • In dominating fashion Bell earned his second career win at Iowa and his fourth victory of the 2019 season.

Additional Notes

  • Bell dominated at Iowa Speedway, leading 186 of the 250 laps.
  • Bell remains second in the NASCAR Xfinity Series point standings, 51 points behind the leader.
  • Bell took home the win on Father’s Day with his Father in attendance. Bell also came out victorious on Mother’s Day in Dover with his Mother in attendance.

How were you able to maintain the lead on those final restarts?

“There were a bunch of them and we just kept getting restart after restart for guys dragging the wall. I was getting pretty frustrated in my seat because I was so good. It just put the pressure on in the restarts.”

How were you able to hold off Cole Custer today?

“Our car was extremely fast. This Ruud Supra was outstanding. Hopefully we can continue to produce these kinds of race cars for the race track. Our mile-and-a-half and big track program, seems we need a little bit to keep up with the 00 (Cole Custer), but I think we have it covered on the short tracks.”

How does it feel to win again here at Iowa?

“It’s pretty cool. First off, thank you to all of our partners at Ruud, Rheem, Toyota, Toyota Racing Development, all the partners at Xfinity that help put on this great show in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Man, I got to win at Dover on Mother’s Day weekend, or I guess the weekend before with my mom there and now I just won on Father’s Day weekend with my dad here, so it’s pretty special.”

What were those final restarts like from the driver’s seat?

“Man, that thing, my car was just so fast. At the first stage of the race, the long run I was starting to gain on them a little bit and I felt like it was going to be pretty tough to pass him (Cole Custer) and then we had really good pit stops and really good adjustments and just got our Supra extremely fast. Really late in the run we were really good. Hats off to Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) – he did a really good job today.”

What do you feel your team is capable of this season after winning four races so far this year?

“I think our potential is really high. Our big track stuff I feel like we still need to gain on it and we’re obviously working hard to do that. This was a much needed win. We went to Dover and we were able to win there and at Charlotte I felt like we were right there and had a blown tire. Then, we had a rough couple weeks at Pocono and Michigan. This is definitely a good pick-me-up. Hopefully we can carry some momentum here. I know Chicago is going to be a pretty good test for Homestead. Hopefully we can go there with some speed.”

Will you be frustrated if you don’t get moved to Cup next year?

“Man, I kind of got in trouble last year whenever I got asked this question. What I said last year got taken out of context really bad. My answer to that is, I never really dreamed to be racing in NASCAR and I get to make a great living right now. My goal as a kid was not to be a NASCAR Cup racer. My goal was to make a living driving a race car. I’ve been able to do that now for numerous years now. If I’m Truck racing, sprint car racing, midget racing – I’ve already exceeded my dream, or fulfilled my dream. Whether I’m running Xfinity or Cup, I’m living my dream right now. So, I’ll be happy.”


Up Next: The Xfinity Series has an off weekend before heading to Chicagoland Speedway for the Camping World 300 on Saturday, June 29, 2019. Coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, SIRIUS XM Channel 90 and MRN radio.