Christopher Bell looked really good in Heat 5 of Thursday’s action at the Chili Bowl Nationals. The NASCAR Cup Series Joe Gibbs Racing talent, who has three-career Chili Bowl Nationals wins, started the heat from fourth spot.
Bell made quick work of the field as he took the lead with seven laps left in the Heat.
As the race went on, Bell moved up to the top of the track. According to Bell, the track surface was starting to really get slick towards the end of Heat 5.
“Yeah, it’s just getting pretty slick right off the bottom, so I felt like I could carry a little bit more speed moving up,” Bell explained. “Really happy with this iRacing 71W, hopefully whenever it gets a little bit slicker, we’ll get even better.”
Bell would hold off Daniel Robinson, Frankie Guerrini, Andrew Deal and Austin Barnhill. Barnhill recovered from a flip earlier in the day during hot laps to finish fifth.
As we stand, after Heat 5, Bell is third-highest in passing points on the night with 115. If Bell can win Thursday’s A-Main, he’ll tie Sammy Swindell’s all-time record of eight prelim victories in the Chili Bowl Nationals.
