WINCHESTER, IN :: Christopher Bell once again proved to be a quick learner, leading all 100 laps of the Winchester 100 ARCA/CRA Super Series Late Model race Monday in his first career start at famed Winchester (Ind.) Speedway.
The 20-year-old wheelman started the event at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” from the second position, took the lead down the backstretch and never looked back. Bell was able to hold serve on the restarts after each of the race’s six cautions and when the race ended on a 25-lap green-flag run crossed the finish line over two seconds ahead of second-place finisher Daniel Hemric.
The win was Bell’s fifth in 11 starts behind the wheel of a Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) Late Model in 2015 and sixth across 18 career starts since the open-wheel dirt standout began his pavement-racing career last fall.
“Honestly we entered this race so that I could get a feel for the track before the Winchester 400, but with the banking and how you slide around it fit my driving style really well and we were able to come out of here with the win,” Bell said. “KBM has had a lot of success at Winchester and I knew that we were going to have a good ToyotaCare Camry, once I got acquainted with the track it was a lot of fun and we were able to learn a lot that is going to help us when we come back for the 400 next month.”
The KBM Late Model team will be back in action Saturday Sept. 19 for the CARS Racing Tour Bakerdist.com 200 at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway. Sixteen-year-old Kaz Grala will be behind the wheel of the No. 51 ToyotaCare Camry for the 200-lap event.
Bell’s next Late Model event will be at Winchester Speedway for the 44th annual Winchester 400 on Sunday, Oct. 11th. The Oklahoma native will be looking to give KBM its third consecutive victory in the prestigious event, as the team has won each of the last two years with Erik Jones behind the wheel.
