Consistency leads to top five for Bell
On a picture perfect weekend, former champion Christopher Bell would finish fourth after a late race caution in stage three of the CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway. Bell would run in or near the top-10 for the duration of the CRC Brakleen 150 after a great strategy call. A late race caution would bunch the field back up for an exciting dash to the finish where bell would cross the line unscathed in fourth position.
The beautiful weekend started with practice on Friday afternoon at the unique two and a half mile superspeedway. Bell would report early on in practice that the truck was relatively tight in turns one and three in the 20 minute practice session, but liked the overall balance. Bell would time in 17th fastest on the speed charts; Bell said after practice he liked the direction the truck was heading and should be a good start for qualifying. This would show with a strong qualifying effort of 14th for the Gunma Toyopet Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. This would put Bell on the outside of row seven for the CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway.
Bell would gain a couple spots in the early laps of the CRC Brakleen 150 working his way up to the ninth position. After an early caution on lap four, Bell would be shuffled back to the 13th position. Bell would ride just outside of the top ten for the rest of stage one. Bell would stay out at the end of stage one and cycle up to the ninth position. Bell and the No. 61 Gunma Toyopet Toyota Tundra TRD Pro wuld run in the ninth position for most of the second stage, when crew chief Jon Leonard would call Bell to pit road for four tires and fuel. This would be the only pit stop of the CRC Brakleen 150 for Bell and the 61 team on the day.
Bell would restart stage three in once again the ninth position. During the longest green flag run on the day, Bell would work his way up to the fourth position. After a multitude of restarts, Bell would continue to hold position and take the checkered flag in the fourth position in his second start of the season for Hattori Racing Enterprises.
Christopher Bell Quote:
“I think we put together a pretty great strategy for the race and it paid off with a top five finish. I can't thank Shige enough for letting me come back and have some fun in the Craftsman Truck Series for the second time this year. Jon and the crew gave me an amazing truck, with more time we might have had something for the top three. Overall, I feel we had a great weekend for the team and this gives me more crucial track time for the Cup race on Sunday".