RACE: Alsco 300
TRACK: Kentucky Speedway
START: 2nd
FINISH: 2nd
LAPS: 200

Bell started second but took the lead going into turn one. He never looked back and finished second.

Bell Finishes Third at Daytona

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45)

• Christopher Bell posted the second fastest lap time in single car qualifying Friday afternoon at Kentucky to claim the outside pole starting position.
• Despite starting second, Bell took the lead going into turn one and never looked back.
• Bell led all 45 laps of Stage 1 to take home the Stage win.
• The balance was good for Bell in his No. 20 Ruud Supra so at the Stage break crew chief Jason Ratcliff brought the car in for just four tires, fuel and no chassis adjustments. A lengthy stop cost time on pit road and Bell slipped to seventh.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-90)

• Bell started seventh, finished first.
• Bell quickly regained the lost track position from the previous pit stop and by lap 67 was back out in front of the field leading the charge.
• The No. 20 was handling well and Bell led until the green-white-checkered waved to close the Stage.
• Once again at the Stage break Bell pitted for just four tires, fuel and no adjustments to his Ruud Supra.
• Following the pit stop Bell lined up fifth for the final Stage at Kentucky.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 96-200)

• Bell started fifth, finished second.
• Bell raced his way up to second and had his sights set on the leader when the handling on his Supra transitioned to tight as the sun set and the race continued into the evening.
• As the field cycled through green flag pit stops, Bell brought his Supra in for four tires, fuel, air pressure and chassis adjustments.
• The tight-handling condition remained for the No. 20 and Bell wasn’t able to make up ground on the leader, resulting in a second-place finish at Kentucky Speedway.

Additional Notes

• Bell remains second in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Standings.
• Bell led two different times for a total of 72 laps at Kentucky Speedway.

Did the sun going down affect the car?

“It seemed to. We were really good early and my car felt really good late, we just got beat. Probably just got a little bit too comfortable there, a little bit too tight. We just have to work on a couple things and we’ll come back and get this Ruud Supra in victory lane.”

What happened after that final pit stop?

“I don’t know. We just kind of got worse there. I’m not going to say we got worse. My car was driving really good. Probably just got a little too comfortable and needed to free it up a little bit. Bummer night, but our Ruud Supra was really fast. We were able to win the two stages, so we got a couple more Playoff points. Just got to work on a couple more things and we’ll be good.”

Up Next: The Xfinity Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the ROXOR 200 on Saturday, July 20, 2019. Coverage will begin at 4:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN, SIRIUS XM Channel 90 and PRN radio.