Christopher Bell knows a thing or two about racing his way into major motorsport events. After all, the open-wheel standout turned NASCAR prospect has been in numerous last chance races durin his career.
But none may have been bigger than his victory in the Snowball Derby Last Chance Race on Saturday at Five Flags Speedway.
Despite having the fastest car in the field throughout the week, and one that placed him on the pole during Friday time trials, Bell was disqualified for a wheel spacing issue after inspection, forcing him to star the 25-car LCQ from the rear of the field.
It took only 25 laps for Bell to take his Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota from the rear to a transfer spot. With a few well-timed cautions, he was able to pass three other cars, returning him to the Main Event that he once seemed destined to lead to green.
Joining Bell in the Derby is Christian Eckes, Cassius Clark and Caleb Adrian — the top-four finishers from the 50-lap prelude.
Bell was quick to praise his team for guiding him through traffic during the first half of the race, ultimately leading to his victory.
“My spotter did an awesome job talking me through it,” Bell said. “I’m glad I have him in my corner. He’s able to talk me through things like that, while letting me know how many laps are left.
The key for Bell was not taking any risks and staying patient. Two other drivers took him three-wide early in the race and Bell was advised to back out of it. Before the race, crew chief Chris Gabehart told him not to tear up the “race winning Snowball Derby car.”
He obliged.
“I just stayed on the bottom, picked and chose my moments,” Bell said. “You get restarts where you win some and restarts where you lose some. I had one restart where I fell from ninth to 13th but my guys kept me calm and kept reminding me that we had a good car.”
Now Bell has to drive from to the front again on Sunday, but this time will start 31st against a tougher field in the Snowball Derby itself. But having driven from worst to first on Saturday, Bell thinks he knows even better what to do next time.
“I feel like we learned something on the race car,” Bell said. “It didn’t handle perfect during that race but we were able to learn from it and I think take some things that will make us better overnight on Sunday.
Amongst the 21 drivers who did not advance were ARCA and K&N winner Todd Gilliland, NASCAR Truck Series driver Mason Mingus and CRA winner Brian Campbell.
Defending Derby winner John Hunter Nemechek, reigning Southern Super Series champion Casey Smith and Five Flags Speedway second in points Garrett Jones all received provisionals into the event.
As a result of Saturday festivities, the lineup for the 48th Snowball Derby has been set. It can be viewed below.
- Ty Majeski
- Chase Elliott
- Preston Peltier
- Dalton Sargeant
- Logan Boyett
- Casey Roderick
- Johanna Long
- Stephen Nasse
- Spencer Davis
- Kaz Grala
- Daniel Hemric
- Derek Thorn
- Augie Grill
- Kyle Grissom
- William Byron
- DJ VanderLey
- Jerry Artuso
- Bubba Pollard
- Zane Smith
- Derek Kraus
- Donnie Wilson
- Kyle Plott
- Scotty Ellis
- Harrison Burton
- Bret Holmes
- Chad Finley
- Clay Jones
- Quin Houff
- Noah Gragson
- Corey LaJoie
- Christopher Bell
- Christian Eckes
- Cassius Clark
- Caleb Adrian
- Casey Smith
- Garrett Jones
- John Hunter Nemechek
