Bell Wins the First Race of the Playoffs in the Truck Series at New Hampshire
LOUDON, NH – RIS – Christopher Bell proved he was the class of the field in the Truck Series during the regular season. With the first round of the playoff races completed at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bell proved again that he'll be the driver to beat for the championship during the running of the UNOH 175.
Bell, the top-seeded driver in the playoff field, passed Ryan Truex with 15 laps left and pulled away to win the NASCAR Trucks race on Saturday to put an explanation point to the season.
Bell earned an automatic spot in the next playoff round. The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver led 73 laps, won his fifth race of the season and was the only playoff driver to finish in the top five, giving him an advantage early in the races that will determine the season champion.
"I knew it was tough to pass all day, but our truck had been so good we hadn't been able to do it until we got to him," Bell said. "I kept trying to work down, and he kept blocking my air down and down and down. Finally, I got one run where I drove up in [turns] one and two and then got a big run into three."
The 22-year-old Bell was easily the top representative of the Truck playoff field that didn't have another driver finish in the top five. Playoff drivers held spots 6 through 11.
Todd Gilliland was third, Grant Enfinger was fourth, followed by Stewart Friesen in fifth with Matt Crafton in sixth, followed by Ben Rhodes, Austin Cindric, Johnny Sauter, Kaz Grala and Chase Briscoe. John Hunter Nemechek finished 20th and was the worst finisher among the playoff drivers.
The series heads to Las Vegas next week for the second race in the playoffs.
Fin Str Trk Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 2 4 Christopher Bell (P) SiriusXM Toyota 175 1 1 60 Running 4 73 7
2 7 16 Ryan Truex Price Chopper Toyota 175 7 3 47 Running 1 28
3 5 51 Todd Gilliland Pedigree Toyota 175 8 8 40 Running
4 8 98 Grant Enfinger # Ride TV Toyota 175 9 4 42 Running
5 11 52 Stewart Friesen # We Build America Chevrolet 175 10 6 38 Running
6 10 88 Matt Crafton (P) Great Lakes Floors/Menards Toyota 175 6 2 45 Running 1 17
7 4 27 Ben Rhodes (P) Safelite Auto Glass Toyota 175 2 7 43 Running 1 17
8 6 19 Austin Cindric (P) # Draw-Tite/Reese Brands Ford 175 4 36 Running
9 3 21 Johnny Sauter (P) ISMConnect Chevrolet 175 5 10 35 Running
10 12 33 Kaz Grala (P) # NETTTS Chevrolet 175 5 33 Running
11 9 29 Chase Briscoe (P) # Cooper Standard Ford 175 26 Running
12 23 13 Cody Coughlin # JEGS Toyota 175 25 Running
13 13 24 Justin Haley # Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet 175 9 26 Running
14 19 44 Austin Wayne Self AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet 174 23 Running
15 1 18 Noah Gragson # Switch Toyota 174 3 30 Running 2 40
16 16 45 TJ Bell Niece Equipment Chevrolet 173 21 Running
17 21 50 Josh Reaume Chevrolet 169 20 Running
18 22 49 Wendell Chavous # Chevrolet 168 19 Running
19 27 6 Norm Benning Chevrolet 144 18 Brakes
20 14 8 John H. Nemechek (P) Fire Alarm Services Chevrolet 139 17 Running
21 24 1 Jordan Anderson Lucas Oil/Bommarito.com Chevrolet 126 16 Electrical
22 15 02 Austin Hill Whitetail Heaven Outfitters Ford 125 15 Brakes
23 20 83 Patrick Emerling Chevrolet 116 14 Engine
24 29 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Driven2Honor Chevrolet 27 13 Electrical
25 17 15 Gray Gaulding(i) Chevrolet 25 0 Brakes
26 18 87 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 11 11 Vibration
27 26 63 Camden Murphy Chevrolet 8 10 Brakes
28 28 57 Mike Senica Chevrolet 3 9 Rear Gear
29 25 0 Ray Ciccarelli Star Sales Chevrolet 0 8 Fuel Pump
Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 46 Mins, 05 Secs. Average Speed: 104.720 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.248 Seconds
Ron Fleshman
RIS NASCAR Editor. Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.