Christopher Bell takes thrilling victory at Gateway Motorsports Park
June 25, 2016
By Chris Knight
NASCAR Wire Service
MADISON,
Ill. – A gutsy decision to use the bottom lane for a restart with two
laps to go paid off for Christopher Bell, who earned his second career
NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series victory in Saturday night’s third annual Drivin for Linemen 200
at Gateway Motorsports Park.
Bell,
driver of the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra, survived a
chaotic and intense second half to edge Ben Rhodes to the checkered
flag, giving KBM its 50th victory
in the series, tying Roush Fenway Racing for the all-time series wins
lead.
“This
one’s for my guys,” said Bell in Victory Lane. “My guys, they deserve
this one. We’ve been so fast all year long and I just kept making a lot
of mistakes. I just can’t
say thank you enough to all the guys at Toyota, TRD, JBL, everyone at
KBM, all my pit crew guys they did an awesome job. Track position was
everything. We got awesome motors underneath the hood of these things
and all the guys at JGR, they never give up and
keep digging.”
Rhodes, who contended for his first career win, had to settle for a career-best second.
“He
(Bell) had a really loose truck and that’s what you needed at the end
of the race,” Rhodes said. “It just got tighter and tighter as the runs
went on. I was way too tight
but I was making some good ground on the outside and he came up on us a
little bit, which is fine. It’s racing for the win at the end. He did
an awesome job all night. He raced everybody clean and with respect. I
think we could use a little more of that in
our series after this crazy Drivin’ For Linemen 200.”
For
the second consecutive year, Mother Nature soaked the 1.25-mile track
shortly before qualifying was to begin, forcing the field to be set by
combined practice speeds, handing
the top starting position to Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate
Rhodes.
Despite
an hour and fifteen-minute delay for inclement weather, Rhodes would
lose the lead on the start from veteran Johnny Sauter who held command
until Tyler Reddick elected
to stay out on a Lap 26 caution for an incident in Turn 3.
The
bold strategy for Reddick paid off with the race lead until the event’s
third caution on Lap 65 for the expiration of the caution clock. During
routine pit stops, a quick
stop from William Byron’s crew handed him the lead.
The
NASCAR Next alumnus led for a whopping 48 laps, until outside pole
sitter Sauter squeezed ahead on pit road following a Lap 113 caution for
the second expiration of the caution
clock.
The
two would be under attack on the restart from Christopher Bell who
surged into the lead on Lap on Lap 119 and despite losing the lead to
Rhodes on Lap 149, the Toyota Racing
development driver reclaimed the lead on Lap 153 and held on for his
first NCWTS win on pavement.
The
event was red-flagged three times for incidents. The first for a
three-truck incident in Turn 3 on Lap 120 lasted six minutes, 38
seconds. The second came 11 laps from the
finish for a seven-truck accident in Turn 4 for a total of 10 minutes,
50 seconds. The final red flag broke out behind the leaders for an
incident between Spencer Gallagher and John Wes Townley that lasted 12
minutes, 49 seconds. The two drivers wrestled after
climbing from their trucks and were summoned to the Truck Series hauler
post-race.
The
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will take a one-week breather before
returning to competition at Kentucky Speedway on Thurs., July 7 for the
Buckle Up Your Truck 225.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race - Drivin For Linemen 200 Brought To You By Altec
Gateway Motorsports Park
Madison, Illinois
Saturday, June 25, 2016
1. (9) Christopher Bell #, Toyota, 160.
2. (1) Ben Rhodes #, Toyota, 160.
3. (13) Daniel Hemric, Ford, 160.
4. (2) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 160.
5. (17) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, 160.
6. (4) John H. Nemechek, Chevrolet, 160.
7. (5) German Quiroga, Toyota, 160.
8. (16) Kaz Grala, Chevrolet, 160.
9. (12) Ben Kennedy, Chevrolet, 160.
10. (21) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 160.
11. (24) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 160.
12. (25) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 160.
13. (19) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 160.
14. (23) Rico Abreu #, Toyota, 160.
15. (8) Cole Custer #, Chevrolet, 160.
16. (20) Shane Lee, Chevrolet, 160.
17. (3) William Byron #, Toyota, 160.
18. (27) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 160.
19. (28) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 160.
20. (30) Enrique Contreras, Chevrolet, 160.
21. (15) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 156.
22. (11) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, Accident, 153.
23. (18) John Wes Townley, Chevrolet, Accident, 150.
24. (10) Cameron Hayley, Toyota, 150.
25. (7) Tyler Reddick, Ford, Accident, 149.
26. (6) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 149.
27. (14) Matt Crafton, Toyota, Accident, 148.
28. (26) Austin Wayne Self #, Toyota, Accident, 118.
29. (29) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, Accident, 113.
30. (22) Jake Griffin, Chevrolet, Engine, 14.
31. (32) Caleb Roark, Chevrolet, Vibration, 7.
32. (31) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, Engine, 0.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 89.021 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 14 Mins, 48 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.275 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 44 laps.
Lead Changes: 10 among 6 drivers.
Lap
Leaders: B. Rhodes # 0; J. Sauter 1-26; T. Reddick 27-67; J. Anderson
68; W. Byron # 69-115; J. Sauter 116-118; C. Bell # 119-148; B. Rhodes #
149-152; C. Bell # 153-160.
Leaders
Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): W. Byron # 1 time for 47 laps;
T. Reddick 1 time for 41 laps; C. Bell # 2 times for 38 laps; J. Sauter
2 times for 29 laps; B.
Rhodes # 2 times for 4 laps; J. Anderson 1 time for 1 lap.
Top
10 in Points: W. Byron # - 226; M. Crafton - 225; T. Peters - 221; D.
Hemric - 216; J. Sauter - 204; J. Nemechek - 192; B. Kennedy - 192; T.
Reddick - 191; C. Bell # - 185;
B. Rhodes # - 181.
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