Bell Hopes to Pick Up Where He Left Off at Iowa

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 8, 2015) – When most drivers move up to a new racing series, their goal is to finish the race, log laps and bring their race vehicle back to the shop in one piece. Christopher Bell set the bar pretty high in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Iowa Speedway last month. Not only did he finish the race with his Tundra intact, but he brought home a fifth-place result. It was an impressive feat for the 20-year-old Norman, Okla., native, but not a surprise for those who have watched him succeed so often across a variety of racing disciplines in his young career.

Just this season alone, Bell finished fifth in his truck series debut, has won four races in KBM’s Super Late Model, made two K&N Pro Series starts (including a fifth-place finish) and has collected six wins on dirt between the National Midget Series (five wins) and the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series (one win).

This week will be another new challenge for Bell, his first race at an intermediate track. Not just any intermediate track, but Kentucky Speedway. Kentucky is a track known for its rough and bumpy surface, which can be difficult for even the veteran drivers to navigate. What Bell lacks in experience, he makes up for in determination, talent and the ability to learn as much information as possible in a short amount of time.

Bell also has the benefit of a strong team supporting him with a proven record at Kentucky. KBM drivers have collected two wins, 380 laps led, six top-five and eight top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 10.0 across 11 starts at the mile-and-a-half track. Driver-owner Kyle Busch won last year’s race from the pole after leading 91 of 150 laps. He also claimed the trophy in 2011.

So when the checkered flag waves Thursday night in the UNOH 225, although Bell may not end up in Victory Lane quite yet, chances are good he will be there before too long.

Christopher Bell, Driver of the No. 54 NCWTS Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra:

After a successful debut at Iowa, what is your outlook heading into Kentucky?

“It’s going to be a new experience for me with the aero package, and I’ve never run a mile-and-a-half track. My plan is to just go out there, finish the race and try to learn how the air affects the trucks as much as I can. I’m looking forward to having four hours of practice in my Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra Thursday morning to learn as much as possible before qualifying and racing that night.”

Is there anything you are doing in advance to prepare for this race?

“I’ve been watching a lot of videos of mile-and-a-half races to see how the trucks react whenever they are around other trucks. As far as driving the truck, I don’t think it will be an issue. I just have to continue learning how the air affects them. I have great KBM teammates with Erik (Jones) and Daniel (Suarez), who I’m sure will be valuable resources when we get to the track.”

After a top-five finish at Iowa, do you have to dial back your expectations a little since this will be a new experience for you?

“Obviously the top-five run at Iowa was awesome, so anythi ng less is going to be a letdown, but we need to go there with realistic expectations of me never running at a track that size. First I need to finish the race, but also continue to be competitive as I gain more experience in these Tundras.”

Shannon Rursch, Crew Chief of the No. 54 NCWTS Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra:

Is there anything the team does differently to prepare for Kentucky knowing how rough the track surface is?

“Teams definitely focus on the bumps at Kentucky, as we do at several other tracks.  We have four hours of practice to work on getting the truck through the bumps, but given the past success of KBM at Kentucky we are confident that we will unload pretty close to where we need to be.”

Christopher Bell’s No. 54 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra:

KBM-031: The No. 54 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles team will debut a new chassis, KBM-031, for Thursday’s UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway.

Notes of Interest:

Christopher Bell 2015:

• Posted a fifth-place finish at Iowa Speedway in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut (6/19/15)
• Has collected four victories and a pair of runner-up finishes across nine starts behind the wheel of KBM’s No. 51 Super Late Model
• Scored his first marquee Super Late Model win when he led 203 of 250 laps of the prestigious Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway in Kinston, dominating a field that included reigning NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott (3/15/15)
• Has made two NASCAR K&N Pro Series starts, including a fifth-place finish in the East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway (5/16/15)
• On dirt, has collected five National Midget Series wins and also collected his second-career World of Outlaws Sprint Car triumph

Christopher Bell 2014

• Collected an amazing 27 feature wins while competing in 108 events between Midgets (18 wins), Winged Sprint Cars (seven wins), Non-Winged Sprint Cars (one win) on dirt and Super Late Models (one win) on pavement
• In just his fourth-career late model start, outdueled second-generation NASCAR driver John Hunter Nemechek to win the Orange County 150 Pro All Star Series (PASS) South Super Late Model race at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, N.C. (10/18/14)
• With a win in the prestigious 98-lap Turkey Night Grand Prix USAC Midget race at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway, etched his name along open-wheel legends A.J. Foyt (1960-61), Parnelli Jones (1964 and 1966) and Tony Stewart (2000), who all picked up a Turkey Night win in their careers (11/28/14)
• Scored his first World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series win at Jacksonville (Ill.) Speedway (5/7/14)
• Named the MidgetMadness.com “Top Gun of the Year” for second consecutive season

Christopher Bell 2013

• Scored six National Midget Series wins and seven additional podiums on dirt while adding one win on pavement
• 2013 United States Auto Club (USAC) National Midget Champion
• Named USAC Midget Rookie of the Year
• Named the MidgetMadness.com “Top Gun of the Year”

Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 54 Tundra:

• Is currently 16^th in the Owner’s Championship standings with four top-10 finishes in nine starts
• Earned five wins, three poles, 964 laps led, 14 top-five and 30 top-10 finishes across 53 starts since 2013

KBM NCWTS Program

• Has collected three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Owner’s Championships, 40 Truck Series victories and 21 poles across 228 starts since originating in 2010
• 40 career Truck Series victories as an organization ranks third all-time behind Roush (50) and Kevin Harvick Inc. (43)
• 14 victories as an organization during the 2014 season broke the Truck Series record of 12 set by Ultra Motorsports in 2001
• Six different drivers have won a race for KBM, led by owner-driver Kyle Busch with 26. Darrell Wallace Jr. collected five victories, Erik Jones has posted four wins, Denny Hamlin produced two victories and Kasey Kahne and Brian Scott both collected one triumph
• Has collected victories at 17 of the 21 tracks on the 2015 schedule, excluding Atlanta Motor Speedway, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Michigan International Speedway and Pocono Raceway

KBM NCWTS @ Kentucky

• KBM drivers have collected two wins, 380 laps led, six top-five and eight top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 10.0 across 11 starts at Kentucky
• Driver-owner Kyle Busch won last year’s race from the pole after leading 91 of 150 laps. He also claimed the trophy in 2011.
• Darrell Wallace Jr., finished second to Busch in last year’s event, giving KBM its first-ever one-two finish

The Rursch Report:

Shannon Rursch will call the shots for the No. 54 Tundra in the Truck Series in 2015. The Iowa native may be new to KBM, but is no stranger to sitting atop the pit box. Rursch comes to KBM from Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM), where he most recently served as crew chief for the No. 31 team in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. In addition to leading the XFINITY Series team in 2014, he collected three top-10 finishes in four starts as crew chief for TSM in select Truck Series events last season.

Rursch was the crew chief at last year’s fall NCWTS race at Kentucky for driver Chase Pistone who finished 20^th.

Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 54 Toyota Tundra 2015 NCWTS Box Score:

Sources: Kyle Busch Motorsports

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