Lonnie Wheatley, NORMAN, Okla. (August 14, 2014) – The best remedy for putting a disappointing Knoxville Nationals in the past? How about five races over the course of three days.
That’s the plan for Christopher Bell, who will take to the track in the Keith Kunz Motorsports No. 71 Midget on four occasions over the weekend while also mixing in a USAC Silver Crown start aboard the RPM/Gormly No. 99.
After one event on Friday, Bell is set for three feature events on Saturday before wrapping it all up with the traditional one-race Sunday.
“Five races in three days, I’m excited about it!” Bell exclaimed. “Hopefully we can pick up at least a win or two along the way.”
It all starts with a POWRi Midget outing at Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln, IL, on Friday night. Then things pick up, with an early a.m. practice on Saturday preceding the Tony Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. Following the 100-miler, it’s off to nearby Macon for a POWRi Midget double that includes a makeup feature from earlier in the season along with a full card of action. The weekend wraps up with a USAC vs. POWRi Midget tilt at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, WI, on Sunday night.
With a dozen of his 17 overall wins thus far in 2014 coming in the Midget ranks, Bell looks to add to the total with some fresh Toyota powerplants in the Kunz Midget for the weekend.
He’ll also try to add his first USAC Silver Crown score in his second outing aboard the RPM/Gormly No. 99 with Rob Hart at the wrenches after a runner-up finish atop the Belleville High Banks to kick off the month of August.
“The first race in the 99 went well so I think we’ll be good,” Bell says. “The mile track will be a different thing though than last time out.”
The busy weekend will be a quick way to put a Knoxville Nationals that barely happened at all for Bell in the past.
“We never really even got a chance,” Bell said. “Even with it not running right, we were going forward when we got a few laps so I feel confident about that.”
After losing one engine in the Capitani Classic the Sunday prior to the Nationals, Bell’s Knoxville Nationals debut was pushed back to Friday night after his scheduled Wednesday night qualifier was nixed by rain.
But, with a balky motor that finally gave out as he was marching forward in “B” Main action, the 19-year-old from Norman, OK, didn’t have an opportunity to showcase his on-track talent at the famed Knoxville oval this time around.
“It’s a good team and those problems will get ironed out,” Bell said of the Berryman No. 31b Sprint Car that he’s already picked up a pair of wins in this season. “It just wasn’t meant to happen this time.”
2014 Quick Stats: 71 races, 17 wins, 36 top-fives, 46 top-tens.
Next Up:
Friday, Lincoln Speedway (Lincoln, IL) – Kunz 71 Midget
Saturday afternoon, Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield, IL) – RPM/Gormly 99 Silver Crown
Saturday night, Macon Speedway (Macon, IL) – Kunz 71 Midget
Sunday, Angell Park Speedway (Sun Prairie, WI) – Kunz 71 Midget
Keep Track: Keep track of Christopher Bell’s on-track action including schedule and results at http://www.christopherbellracing.com/.
If you would like to keep up with all of Christopher Bell’s racing action by having press releases e-mailed directly to you, simply send your e-mail address to Lonnie Wheatley at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
Penning the recurring series of “The Wheatley Chronicles” articles on racinboys.com, Lonnie Wheatley provides media, public relations and more for select tracks, drivers and events. For more information, Wheatley may be contacted at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.