Christopher Bell Dominates For Second Straight Week Until Engine Goes Sour
6 months agoBy most metrics, Christopher Bell dominated Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway. Not only did he have the fastest average lap time by nearly a 10th of a second, he led the most laps, won the first two stages, and made three of the race's five on-track passes for the lead. It's debatable whether Ryan Blaney's pass on Lap 222 should even count, since Bell suddenly slowed due to losing a cylinder around the same time that Blaney took the lead. While Bell elected to continue on the track, he faded to seventh but shockingly finished ahead of Blaney in a wacky finish, when Blaney unexpectedly ran out of fuel on the last lap. Even though Bell's equipment was not as strong as he was Sunday, Bell's back-to-back dominant runs bode well for the future, and his much-improved passing numbers are also a good sign for the rest of the season.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference