NASCAR returns to the Brickyard this weekend, as the regular season comes to a close in the Monster Energy Cup Series. While it all culminates this Sunday, there is plenty of action that takes place before one lucky driver kisses the bricks after 400 miles.
Hometown kid, Jeff Gordon had already won the inaugural Brickyard 400 by the time Christopher Bell was born. The 24-year old Bell seeks to leave his own legacy at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Bell participated in the USAC National Midget race on the 3/4 mile dirt track inside of IMS. The two-day event featured some legendary names among the 88 drivers entered. NASCAR was well represented, with Kyle Larson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chase Briscoe, JJ Yeley, and Bell all throwing some dirt. Larson won the Stoops Pursuit feature on Wednesday night, in dramatic fashion.
On Thursday Bell won his qualifying race, and then won the B-Main to advance to the A-Main Feature race. Running third with just two laps remaining, Bell got on the turn 3 cushion and nearly flipped. He was going for the lead when his roll cage bounced off the track surface. His pursuit of victory ended with the front end damage.
Bell has won multiple Heat races at Eldora and has now added more wins on the IMS dirt track to his resume. He has won in Super Late Model, ARCA, and of course the Gander Outdoors Truck Series where he earned two championships. Last year he won his heat race and finished fifth in the A-Main feature.
Winning at Eldora and IMS are nice, but it goes much further than that for the Norman, Oklahoma native. Bell is the 2013 USAC National Midget Champion and has won the illustrious Chili Bowl Nationals each of the last three years, becoming just the third driver to win the event three times.
Entering this weekend’s event at Indianapolis, Bell has started 65 races in the Xfinity series. He has 14 wins and 10 poles, but his most impressive statistic is finishing inside the Top Five in 37 of those races. Just let that sink in – he has finished inside the Top Five in 57% of his starts. He has also led 2,195 of a possible 10,535 laps (21%) coming into this weekend.
With a win on Saturday, Bell could become the first driver to win the Xfinity race on the famed 2.5-mile oval, and a race on the 3/4 mile dirt track inside the Speedway.
In his first start at Indianapolis last year, Bell started and finished in 7th place. He completed all 100 laps but never was able to take the lead. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is hoping to change that this weekend. It won’t be easy, as there is already an abundance of quality talent in the series. Add to that the fact that some guy named Kyle Busch is also entered into this event.
Bell has won three of the last 11 races this season, including a five-race stretch where he either finished 1st or 2nd. If he wants to secure his seventh victory of the season, he will need to qualify up front at Indy. Of the seven Xfinity races at Indianapolis, the last six have been won by a driver starting inside the top three.
The NASCAR prodigy recently signed a one-year extension with JGR. While he will be moving up to the Cup series next season, it will be on loan to Leavine Family Racing in the No. 95 Toyota.
When he does make the move, Bell has already stated that he would like for crew chief Jason Ratcliff to come with him. Ratcliff knows that they let the Xfinity championship slip away last year, and they don’t plan on making the same mistakes twice. Cliché or not, their focus remains on the next race.
Two races remain before the playoffs for the Xfinity series begin. Bell is currently 2nd in the standings, 51 points behind defending series champion Tyler Reddick. Tyler can lock up the regular-season title if he leaves Indy with a 61-point lead. Bell will need to stay within range in order to win the regular-season title, which awards 15 crucial playoff points.
Bell has the opportunity to make history this weekend at one of the most historic race tracks in the world. Fellow competitor AJ Allmendinger said it best at Road America last month. “He’s a wheelman. He’s about an A+ in everything he gets in.”
Winning the Xfinity championship is the goal. Winning at Indianapolis is the dream. Making history just might be his destiny.
Follow Chad Smith on Twitter @ChadSmitbNBA
