Bell Spins and Wins Kentucky Trucks

(SPARTA, KY – JUL 7, 2017 – RIS) Christopher Bell spun early in the Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race but thanks to not hitting anything, came back to dominate the closing laps and win his third race of the season.

After a three hour delay because of rain at Kentucky Speedway, Thorsport trucks ran one-two-three with Ben Rhodes winning the first stage, then a hard crash took out two of the team trucks just a few laps into the second stage. Noah Gragson won Stage Two and in the pits during the stage-ending caution, Kyle Busch had trouble in the pits, dropping from second to tenth as the right front tire gave the changer a handful before he could change it.
Myatt Snider led the pack to start the final stage, with Christopher Bell and John Hunter Nemechek moving around into the lead before Noah Gragson bounced off the apron on the front straight and spun to bring out the sixth caution.
Winner of the last two truck series races, John Hunter Nemechek, took the lead on lap 93, towing Christopher Bell with him into a lead of over a second ahead of a determined Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric.
Myatt Snider's solo spin on lap 107 resulted in no damage to the No. 51 truck and he continued. Late in the race, Christopher Bell, now recovered from his earlier spin, held off a challenge from Brandon Jones to take his third win of the season. Justin Haley beat Austin Cindric to third by just over a tenth of a second with Noah Gragson fifth, a full second ahead of Kyle Busch. Parker Kligerman, Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter and Austin Hill rounded out the top ten.

“It was great. Man, it was really tough. The track was – it had a lot of grip in it, so it made it pretty tough to pass," Bell said after the race. "Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) just did a great job keeping us with track position the entire race. That was the biggest key man. Because whenever I got in second there, it was really tough to pass. Whenever you got in the back it was really tough to pass. Whenever I was leading, it’s nerve-racking whenever he keeps getting those draft runs on you and getting up to you, but I just kept reminding myself how tough it was for me to pass the leader whenever I was in second. Thankfully, he ran my clean and our Toyota Tundra was good enough to get her done.

“This is pretty special man. This is an extremely tough race for me. We had our ups and downs there and through practice yesterday, just kind of – practice didn’t really go smooth. We had such a good Toyota Tundra that I knew, I knew if the right circumstances came up we could do it and Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) did a great job on top of the pit box just getting me track position after I made a mistake there and spun out. Just really glad to be here. Really thankful for all the guys at TRD, everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports – they build such fast Tundras. It’s a pleasure to drive them. Our Joe Gibbs engines are flawless and that showed today.”

Unofficial Race Results for the 7Th Annual Buckle Up In Your Truck 225, Kentucky Speedway - Sparta, KY

Fin, Str, Driver, Truck, Laps, St1, St2, Pts, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts, Status
1) 2, Christopher Bell, No. 4 Toyota Toyota, 150, , 6, 45, 3, 54, 5, Running
2) 16, Brandon Jones(i), No. 99 CHIGO - Beat The Heat Chevrolet, 150, , , 0, , , , Running
3) 10, Justin Haley #, No. 24 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet, 150, 6, 3, 47, 1, 4, , Running
4) 13, Austin Cindric #, No. 19 LTi Printing Ford, 150, , 7, 37, , , , Running
5) 11, Noah Gragson #, No. 18 Switch Toyota, 150, 9, 1, 44, 1, 32, 1, Running
6) 27, Kyle Busch(i), No. 46 Banfield Pet Hospital Toyota, 150, , 2, 0, , , , Running
7) 30, Parker Kligerman, No. 75 Tide Pods/Food Country USA Toyota, 150, , , 30, , , , Running
8) 4, Matt Crafton, No. 88 Jack Links/Menards Toyota, 150, 3, , 37, , , , Running
9) 1, Johnny Sauter, No. 21 Allegiant Airlines Chevrolet, 150, , 8, 31, 1, 26, , Running
10) 18, Austin Hill, No. 02 Whitetail Heaven Outfitters Ford, 150, 10, , 28, , , , Running
11) 3, Chase Briscoe #, No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford, 150, , 4, 33, , , , Running
12) 29, Stewart Friesen #, No. 52 Halmar International Chevrolet, 150, , , 25, , , , Running
13) 15, Ross Chastain(i), No. 66 Bolen Motorsports Chevrolet, 150, 8, , 0, , , , Running
14) 20, Regan Smith, No. 92 BTS Tire & Wheel/Advance Auto Parts Ford, 150, , , 23, , , , Running
15) 14, Cody Coughlin #, No. 13 JEGS Toyota, 150, , , 22, , , , Running
16) 6, Myatt Snider, No. 51 Liberty Tax Service Toyota, 149, , 5, 27, 1, 4, , Running
17) 25, JJ Yeley(i), No. 83 Fr8Auction.com Chevrolet, 149, , , 0, , , , Running
18) 9, John H. Nemechek, No. 8 Fire Alarm Services Inc. Chevrolet, 148, 5, 10, 26, 2, 20, , Running
19) 21, Wendell Chavous #, No. 49 Chevrolet, 145, , , 18, , , , Running
20) 23, Josh Reaume, No. 50 Lodestar Guidance Chevrolet, 144, , , 17, , , , Running
21) 22, Jennifer Jo Cobb, No. 10 Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet, 142, , , 16, , , , Running
22) 32, Austin Wayne Self, No. 22 Airflotek/Don't Mess With Texas/Snap Track Toyota, 130, , , 15, , , , Running
23) 8, Ryan Truex, No. 16 AISIN Toyota, 114, 2, , 23, , , , Accident
24) 12, Kaz Grala #, No. 33 15-40 Connection Chevrolet, 114, 7, 9, 19, , , , Accident
25) 24, Jordan Anderson, No. 1 Bommarito.com/Lucas Oil Chevrolet, 62, , , 12, , , , Suspension
26) 19, TJ Bell, No. 45 Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet, 54, , , 11, , , , Accident
27) 5, Ben Rhodes, No. 27 Safelite Auto Glass Toyota, 41, 1, , 20, 1, 5, 1, Accident
28) 7, Grant Enfinger #, No. 98 Ride TV Toyota, 41, 4, , 16, 1, 5, , Accident
29) 28, Matt Mills, No. 44 Thompson Electric Inc. Chevrolet, 20, , , 8, , , , Accident
30) 26, Camden Murphy, No. 63 Mittler Bros/Ski Soda Chevrolet, 10, , , 7, , , , Electrical
31) 31, BJ McLeod(i), No. 57 Chevrolet, 1, , , 0, , , , Overheating
32) 17, Norm Benning, No. 6 Chevrolet, 0, , , 5, , , , Engine
 (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 59 Mins, 47 Secs.
Average Speed: 112.703 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.187 Seconds
Race Comments: Christopher Bell wins the Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway, his fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory. Before the start of the event, the following trucks dropped to the rear of the field for the reason(s) indicated: Nos. 6 and 57 (missed drivers meeting) and No. 29 (backup truck).
 Failed to Qualify: (1) 87.
 Caution Flags: 8 for 42 laps: Laps: 22-26 (No. 44 Accident on the Frontstretch [None]); 28-31 (No. 4 Spin in Turn 3 [49]); 37-41 (Stage 1 Conclusion [50]); 43-51 (No. 4, 27, 45, 88 and 98 Incident in Turn 3 [10]); 72-76 (Stage 2 Conclusion [99]); 79-82 (No. 18 and 19 Incident on the frontstretch [49]); 108-113 (No. 51 Spin in Turn 4 [83]); 115-118 (No. 16 and 33 Incident in Turn 3 [51]).
 Lead Changes: 10 among 8 drivers: J. Sauter 1-26; G. Enfinger No. 27-31; B. Rhodes 32-36; J. Haley No. 37-40; N. Gragson No. 41-72; M. Snider 73-76; C. Bell 77-92; John H. Nemechek 93-108; C. Bell 109; John H. Nemechek 110-113; C. Bell 114-150.
Duralast GT Brakes ?Brake in the Race Award? - Stage 1: Ben Rhodes, No. 27 Stage 1 Duralast GT Brakes ?Brake in the Race Award? - Stage 2: Noah Gragson, No. 18 Stage 2
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Joe Gibbs Engines, No. 4 Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Christopher Bell, No. 4
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Justin Haley, No. 24 

John Davison

Long-time RIS staffer, beginning in the mid-80s. Charlotte, NC area local contact.

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Volume 2017, Issue 7, Posted 1:31 AM, 07.07.2017