Despite stumbling at Darlington with a 29th-place finish that left him hanging onto 10th in the standings and just 11 points above the cutline, Christopher Bell’s track record at Gateway offers a silver lining.
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With an average finish of 9.0 in three starts, he knows that if he can keep the gremlins at bay, he has the speed to bounce back in style. In fact, several analysis sites peg Bell as the projected winner of the Enjoy Illinois 300, a race that carries even more weight for him, given it’s his home track, sort of.
Appearing on SpeedFreaks, Bell admitted, “It (Gateway) definitely feels like a home track. I’ve just spent so much time in St. Louis racing around the dirt tracks in the area that it definitely feels like you’re racing at home.
“I go back to that 2016 NASCAR Truck Series race where I got my first asphalt win in the sport. That was really special. My dad and mom were, and my family was able to be there for that one.”
Bell continued, “And last year, we came so close to winning at WWT Raceway. So yeah, I’m excited about it being in the playoffs.
“And it’s one that I look forward to going to every year, but now it’s even more special with it being in the playoffs. It is super important to perform well there. And fortunately for me, we’ve got a good notebook to go off of.”
Bell’s poor outing at Darlington came after misfortune struck on pit road, where he got tangled in a collision with Carson Hocevar. The incident unfolded on Lap 152 after Hocevar spun, triggering the third caution of the night.
As the Spire Motorsports driver tried to limp his car to pit road for repairs, he lost control again and clipped the No. 20 JGR Toyota, damaging Bell’s right front and wiping out a golden chance to score required playoff points.
Now, as the series shifts to Gateway, Bell has the chance to put that episode in the rearview mirror. With two top-10s in three starts at the 1.25-mile oval, he knows this race could be his lifeline to revive his championship bid.
