LINCOLN, ILL. (June 30, 2019) – For Christopher Bell, a change of scenery could do nothing in deterring his drive to victory lane on Sunday night with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League for the 29th time in his storied, yet young career. Switching to the Tucker-Boat Motorsports, Pristine Auction, Spike/Toyota No. 84, the Norman, Okla. native went wire-to-wire at Lincoln Speedway to win in dominating fashion.
Starting from the pole position after he earned PAC Sprints High Point Man honors with a sixth-to-first heat race run, Bell guided the field to the green flag alongside Logan Seavey of Sutter, Calif. in the Keith Kunz-Curb Agajanian Motorsports, Mobil 1, Bullet-By-Spike/Toyota No. 67.
After leading the opening circuit, Bell nearly saw the lead slip from his grasp by lap two when he went to the test the high side of turns one and two. Allowing Seavey to pull alongside, the duo went wheel-to-wheel into turn three vying for the same real estate at the low line. Edging his front end into the corner and prevailing, Bell held on to the top spot and force Seavey to go searching for his next move.
While Bell kicked it into high gear and checked out, the battle for second heated up as Ace McCarthy of Tahlequah, Okla. snuck by Seavey when he bobbled on the top side of turns three and four. Several laps later, Seavey shot back by McCarthy and brought KKM teammate, Tanner Carrick, with him into the third spot.
The red flag flew on lap 23 for an upside down Jesse Colwell, who also collected Tanner Thorson in the mix. The break in action brought Bell’s torrid pace to a screeching halt and snapped his monstrous 8.1 second lead over Seavey. Going back to green with seven laps to go, Bell had a giant cushion of six lap cars separating himself and Seavey, a near improbable mountain to overcome.
Quickly storming away and running off in command, Christopher Bell controlled the final seven laps at Lincoln Speedway with ease and found the checkered flag for his 29th-career POWRi National Midget League win. All 28 of Bell’s previous POWRi triumphs came with Keith Kunz-Curb Agajanian Motorsports, the powerhouse team that he rose to fame with. However, on this night it was friend Chad Boat and Tucker-Boat Motorsports who he brought to victory lane, proving a change of scenery resulted in a standard outcome for the Norman, Okla. native.
Chasing Bell to the line and continuing his stellar 2019 campaign was Logan Seavey with a second-place finish in the Mobil No. 67 machine. Tanner Carrick of Lincoln, Calif. rounded out the podium aboard his Craftsman No. 71K. Zach Daum of Pocahontas, Ill. Claimed a fourth-place finish, while Tanner Thorson of Minden, Nev. rallied from a late crash to finish fifth. Closing out the top ten was Tyler Thomas in sixth, Ace McCarthy in seventh, Joe B. Miller in eighth, Cannon McIntosh in ninth and Tucker Klaasmeyer in tenth.
Scoring heat race victories over the 25-car field was Logan Seavey (Auto Meter Heat 1), Christopher Bell (KSE Racing Products Heat 2) and Presley Truedson (Advanced Racing Suspension Heat 3).
Up next for the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League is a Saturday, July 6 appearance at Fairbury American Legion Speedway in Fairbury, Illinois followed by a Sunday, July 7 trip to Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
Auto Meter Heat One (8 Laps):
- 67-Logan Seavey, Sutter, CA (4); 2. 91T-Tyler Thomas, Collinsville, OK (2); 3. 98-Tanner Thorson, Minden, NV (5); 4. 97A-Austin O’Dell, Rochester, IL (3); 5. 9-Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, OK (7); 6. 67K-Holley Hollan, Broken Arrow, OK (8); 7. 7M-Chance Morton, Coweta, OK (9); 8. 3B-Shelby Bosie, Sherman, IL (6); 9. 17C-Devin Camfield, Decatur, IL (1).
KSE Racing Products Heat Two (8 Laps):
- 84-Christopher Bell, Norman, OK (6); 2. 08-Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, OK (3); 3. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, Paola, KS (7); 4. 71K-Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA (5); 5. 86C-Dalton Camfield, Decatur, IL (1); 6. 72-Sam Johnson, St. Peters, MO (2); 7. 11B-Kaylee Bryson, Muskogee, OK (8); 8. 16C-Dave Camfield Jr. (4).
Advanced Racing Suspension Heat Three (8 Laps):
- 5T-Presley Truedson, Kennedy, MN (4); 2. 3N-Jake Neuman, New Berlin, IL (3); 3. 71-Jesse Colwell, Red Bluff, CA (2); 4. 28-Ace McCarthy, Tahlequah, OK (8); 5. 5D-Zach Daum, Pocahontas, IL (7); 6. 21KS-Joe B. Miller, Millersville, MO (1); 7. 85-DJ Vanderley, Mooresville, NC (6); 8. 8M-Kade Morton, Coweta, OK (5).
POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League Main Event (30 Laps):
- 84-Christopher Bell (1); 2. 67-Logan Seavey (2); 3. 71K-Tanner Carrick (11); 4. 5D-Zach Daum (13); 5. 98-Tanner Thorson (8); 6. 91T-Tyler Thomas (9); 7. 28-Ace McCarthy (5); 8. 21KS-Joe B. Miller (20); 9. 08-Cannon McIntosh (6); 10. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer (4); 11. 71-Jesse Colwell (10); 12. 7M-Chance Morton (16); 13. 3N-Jake Neuman (7); 14. 97A-Austin O’Dell (14); 15. 9-Daison Pursley (12); 16. 67K-Holley Hollan (15); 17. 86C-Dalton Camfield (17); 18. 85-DJ Vanderley (21); 19. 8M-Kade Morton (23); 20. 11B-Kaylee Bryson (18); 21. 16C-Dave Camfield Jr. (24); 22. 72-Sam Johnson (19); 23. 3B-Shelby Bosie (22); 24. 5T-Presley Truedson (3); 25. 17C-Devin Camfield (25).
Lap Leader(s): Bell 1-30.
Hard Charger(s): Miller +12.
Photo Credit - Brendon Bauman Photos