Christopher Bell at 9:30 pm ET on Thursday, April 21, 2016 Photo – Courtesy VMS
Christopher Bell is our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR Weekend Preview on Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 9:30 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite or @beberly18 with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.
Former USAC National Midget champion, Christopher Bell is heading to Salem Speedway this weekend racing with Venturini Motorsports for his career debut in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards. Bell is driving the No. 66 JBL Toyota Camry in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 on Sunday.
Although this is Bell’s first race on the Indiana short track he tested with Venturini Motorsports a couple of weeks ago, giving him confidence that he and his car are ready for action on the track.
“Salem with its high banking is such a fun place to run,” said Bell. “up until a couple weeks ago when we tested, I never saw the track before – but it’s a lot like Winchester (Speedway) with the high banking and speed. The test was my first time in the ARCA car, wo I spent most of the day feeling it out. We have a fast Toyota! If everything comes together and goes as planned on Sunday, we’ll be in contention.”
Bell, first made a huge splash into NASCAR last year by winning his first race in the Camping World Truck Series in the Mud Summer Classic at Eldora Speedway. This year he’s racing the Truck Series full-time with Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Last weekend, while the Truck Series is on break, Bell competed in the CARS Super Late Model Tour at Orange County Speedway, and captured the win – his eighth late-model victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
A native of Norman, Oklahoma, Bell is racing five events with Venturini Motorsports this season with Jeff McClure as his crew chief. Starting with Salem this weekend, Bell will also race at New Jersey Motorsports Park on May 28th; Pocono Raceway on July 29th; again at Salem Speedway on September 10th and finally at Chicagoland Speedway on September 15th.
Already, Bell is having some fun with his sponsor JBL, as he stars in a series of trending social media videos, promoting JBL’s, ‘Guess the Song’ #JBLx Toyota Contest. In a karaoke setting, fans see the lighter side of Bell, sans his helmet and firesuit. With microphone in hand and a set of JBL wireless headphones, Bell channels his inner rock star persona – perhaps as a new American Idol.
“I’m definitely not the next American Idol,” says Bell (laughing). “It’s one of the toughest things I’ve ever done – but also fun. It took me two-days of singing before I ever got comfortable. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback and fans can expect more videos soon.”
Venturini Motorsports teammates, Tom Hessert in the No. 25 and Dalton Sargeant in the No. 55 will join Bell this weekend at Salem Speedway.
The Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 has two practice sessions on Saturday, April 23rd at noon to 12:45 pm ET and again from 1:15 to 2 pm ET with Pole qualifying at 3:30 pm ET. The Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 race begins at 2:15 pm ET on Sunday, April 24th with track coverage on arcaracing.com for both days. A taped delay broadcast of the race is on American Sports Network – check your local listings for date and time.