While 2013 was a sensational season for Christopher Bell, the 19-year-old driver has proved he is not letting off in 2014. Bell swept the 2-night POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget 2014 season opener at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After only one weekend, Bell is already halfway to matching his 2013 POWRi feature wins total.
“It was pretty cool to be able to go to Oklahoma and sweep the weekend,” Bell said. “Port City is actually my home track, so it was a great way to start the season.”
The pair of feature wins gives Bell a 70 point lead over the 2013 POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Champion Zach Daum going into the Kokomo Grand Prix on Friday, April 11th and Saturday, April 12th. Kokomo Speedway in Kokomo, Indiana will host the two-day POWRi/USAC co-sanctioned race. With a large car count of experienced and successful midget drivers expected, Bell must continue to be flawless in order to stay on top.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have run at Kokomo a few times, so hopefully we can continue our success there this weekend. Keith Kunz gives me a great car every race, so we always have a chance to do well,” Bell commented.
The Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports Bullet-Toyota has carried Bell to his early 2014 POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget points lead. Bell’s Toyota motor has helped him achieve success on midget racing’s biggest stages, as he claimed the 2013 USAC Midget championship and a podium finish at the 2014 Chili Bowl Nationals. Bell expects his Toyota motor to continue to have consistent success during the 2014 season.
“Last year we won the USAC championship and it’s really a credit to the guys at Toyota,” Bell stated. “They give us a motor that doesn’t give us problems, so we are able to stay consistent all season.”
After getting rained out at Macon Speedway last week, the Kokomo Grand Prix will be the POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Series 2014 season opener. 2013 POWRi Micro champion Nathan Benson plans to make the trip to Kokomo Speedway for the first race of the season. When commenting on how it feels to start the 2014 season as the 2013 Micro champion, Benson stated, “It feels really great. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going from last year and get a good start to the season.”
As a true champion, Benson has continued to improve during the off-season. “I’ve been building cars and selling them to people. That has helped me get better,” Benson said. “I raced at the Shootout, and we did well there. I’ve also raced at home a few times. We haven’t raced a ton during the off-season, but we’re ready for 2014.”
POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series Driver Points – Top 10: 1. Christopher Bell (400) 2. Zach Daum (330) 3. Tanner Thorson (300) 4. Tyler Thomas (300) 5. Alex Sewell (240) 6. Justin Peck (210) 7. Darren Hagen (170) 8. Daniel Robinson (170) 9. Rico Abreu (150) 10. Matt Sherrell (150)
For further information, go to www.POWRi.com.
Contact:
Paige Elbe
Media Director
Performance Open Wheel Racing, Inc.
pelbe@kbrperformance.net