By Sarah Handy, Staff Writer
One of NASCAR’s top young drivers, Christopher Bell continued his stellar 2019 season following Saturday afternoon’s Zippo 200 from Watkins Glen International located in Watkins Glen, NY.
Bell was strong in both practice sessions for the series in his No. 20 Rheem Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
He would finish sixth in each of the two sessions and would qualifying for the event with a solid fourth place spot on the grid.
(Photo: Christopher Bell/Twitter)
Bell would be strong all-day long finishing Stage 1 in the second position behind teammate, Kyle Busch who dominated the race early on before having a suspension issue end his day.
As Stage 2 came to an end, Bell would find himself finishing it out in 10th.
With Bell steadily running in the Top-10 all day long, the final restart of the event brought what could have been disastrous for driver, team and possibly most of the field.
Bell, Justin Allgaier and Tyler Reddick made contact, with Bell ultimately ending up sideways but he was able to miraculously save his No. 20 and continue on.
How in the world did @CBellRacing save it? 😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/wylGX0wUVM
— Toyota Racing (@ToyotaRacing) August 3, 2019
The 24-year old found himself crossing the finish line on lap-82 for his 13th Top-5 finish of the season as the consistency continues.
What a day. Thank you @rheem @ToyotaRacing @JoeGibbsRacing #Team20 for a great road course car. I need to continue to learn and get better… Another day closer to @BMSupdates 😆😆
— Christopher Bell (@CBellRacing) August 3, 2019
Bell continues his quest for the Xfinity Series Championship with the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, just a few short months away.
Following Saturday’s event, Bell has won an impressive five times this season.
His most recent win came in the ROXOR 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway at the end of July, a race Bell completely dominated leading 186 of 200 laps.
Add to that four pole awards, 13 Top-5s, 14 Top-10s and an extraordinary 1255 laps led and he’s most certainly a top contender to be the 2019 NXS Champion.
The series heads to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for next Saturday’s B&L Transport 170 with Bell coming off an 11th place finish in his only NXS start at the track one year ago.