SPARTA, Kentucky – Open-Wheel and Super Late Model standout Christopher Bell had to experience less than ideal conditions for his second start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Thursday night at Kentucky Speedway.
Consistent rain forced NASCAR to cancel both practice and qualifying for the trucks, putting the field in a tough position, but for Bell, it meant a steep learning curve, especially in his intermediate track debut.
Bell’s fifth place showing at Iowa Speedway last month earned him a second chance behind the wheel of one of Kyle Busch Motorsports’ truck, and with the unexpected departure of Justin Boston from the team’s third team, Bell took his place.
Despite never tackling the 1.5-mile track until the drop of the green flag for the UNOH 225, Bell responded to the challenge nicely by bolting from his 16th place qualifying effort to inside the top-10 before the mandatory caution on Lap 20.
Wrestling a loose No. 54 Toyota Tundra throughout the race saw Bell’s reaction and skill at his finest on three different occasions, until a late-race accident proved to be a little too much leaving his truck damaged. Bell returned to the race track and finished 17th, one lap down to winner Matt Crafton.
“I misread my spotter there,” Bell told Popular Speed after the race. “I thought he cleared me. I tried to move up and there were some trucks there. It was a bad deal. I had a fast truck and thought we’d have a shot at a top-five.”
“Live and learn and move on to the next one.”
Despite zero track time, before the green flag, Bell’s learning curve raised another notch.
“The first couple of laps, it’s weird because these things weigh so much, you wouldn’t think they would move around so much but you get going down the frontstretch and it’s moving to the right and moving to the left,” Bell said. “We caught it one of the times — it really moves you around.
“I thought I got a handle on how to pass guys so hopefully I can apply that if we get to do another race.”
Despite speculation that with Boston’s departure from KBM will increase the presence of Bell in the No. 54, the Toyota-supported driver isn’t sure of his next truck race.
And to the surprise of many, even with his broad background in dirt, Bell doesn’t anticipate racing in the next race at Eldora Speedway on July 22.
“Umm, I don’t think so,” Bell replied.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
