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Victory Bell Rings In Little Rock

by NSSN Staff

Christopher Bell in victory lane Saturday at the Short Track Nationals. (TWC photo)
Christopher Bell in victory lane Saturday at the Short Track Nationals. (TWC photo)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — After a pair of runner-up finishes in the previous two editions of the event, Christopher Bell broke through for the biggest win of his young career by pocketing the $15,000 winner’s share in the 40-lap finale of I-30 Speedway’s 27th annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires.

Racing from the fifth starting position, the 19-year-old from Norman, Okla., slid past West Memphis shoe A.G. Rains for the lead on a mid-race restart and went on to become the event’s 17th different winner and the first winner from Oklahoma since Wayne Johnson took STN honors in 1997.

“I didn’t think we had a chance, we were bad in hot laps,” Bell said. “The guys changed everything though and it was money after that, it was great.”

While Bell started the $84,175 feature inside the third row after topping Friday night’s preliminary feature, dash winner Brian Brown bolted into the lead from the pole position at the outset with fellow front row starter Rains, Aaron Reutzel, Matt Covington and Bell in tow in the early rounds.

Brown slipped away from the field, opening up nearly a straightaway advantage by the time Bell made his way past Covington for fourth on the tenth circuit. Four laps later, Brown’s advantage was erased when sixth-runner Dalton Davis got upside down in turn three.

Vying to improve upon a career-best STN finish of second in 2006 after winning Thursday’s preliminary, Brown biked it getting into turn one on the lap 15 restart and promptly fell back to fourth behind Rains, Reutzel and Bell.

Reutzel and Bell raced back and forth for second behind Rains over the next several laps with Bell taking command of the position by the time the caution flew after 19 laps for a turn three spin by Joe Wood Jr.

On Rains’ tail tank on the restart, Bell wasted no time pouncing on the lead with a slide job in turns one and two to take command aboard Brandon Berryman’s Moss-powered All Pro Auto Reconditioning No. 31b JR-1.

“I got to Rains and he was running up top where I’d been the whole time,” Bell said. “I went low to get by and it felt good.”

Once out front, Bell was virtually unchallenged despite a pair of cautions for turn three spins by Ray Allen Kulhanek after 22 laps and then Tony Bruce Jr., after 29 laps.

Reutzel battled past Rains for second after the Kulhanek spin and had a shot at Bell on the lap 29 restart but was unable to take advantage, instead left to battle a resurgent Brown for the runner-up position.

The duo traded the position several times before Brown missed the turn four cushion, allowing Reutzel to sail on to the $10,000 runner-up payday aboard the Wells-powered BC Fundz No. 87 Triple-X.

Brown settled for a third career STN podium finish by bringing the FVP/Casey’s General Stores No. 21 Maxim across the stripe third with Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson rallying from 12th to claim the fourth position in his No. 77x entry.

Only 10th at the midway point and then eighth on the final restart with 11 laps to go, Memphis-area racer Kevin Swindell marched forward over the final rounds aboard Donnie Cooper’s No. 01 machine to round out the top five.

Gary Taylor raced from tenth to fifth aboard the John James No. 4j in the initial 18 laps before settling for sixth with South Dakota’s Dusty Zomer climbing from B main action to charge from 19th to seventh in the Buffalo Wild Wings No. 82.

Seventy-three different drivers from 18 states as well as the Canadian province of Ontario competed in the 27th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires with in excess of $100,000 in purse money doled out over the weekend.

The finish:

Christopher Bell, Aaron Reutzel, Brian Brown, Wayne Johnson, Kevin Swindell, Gary Taylor, Dusty Zomer, Stevie Smith, A.G. Rains, Matt Covington, Jerod Roller, Tony Bruce Jr., Alex Sewell, Joe Wood Jr., A.J. Bruns, Brandon Hanks, Ray Allen Kulhanek, Shawn Dancer, Johnny Herrera, Dalton Davis, Terry Gray, Marshall Skinner.

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