ST: Bell Shakes, ‘Rattles’ and Rolls to Victory

Open-Wheel Standout Continues to Make a Name for Himself on Pavement

Date:               March 15, 2015

Event:             Hardee’s Rattler 250

Series:             Southern Super Series (Super Late Model)

Location:        South Alabama Speedway in Kinston

Start/Finish:    6^th / 1^st (Running, completed 250 of 250 laps)

Winner:           Christopher Bell of Kyle Busch Motorsports (Toyota)

Christopher Bell dominated Sunday’s Hardee’s Rattler 250 to earn Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) its first-ever win in the annual event held at South Alabama Speedway in Kinston. Bell quickly moved from his sixth starting position to the lead on Lap 2 and would remain at the front of the field, which included some of the biggest names in the Super Late Model world as well as 2014 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott, for 203 of the event’s 250 laps. The win was the 20-year-old’s second in KBM’s Super Late Model this season and third in 11 starts since the open-wheel standout joined the team’s driver lineup late last season.

“This ToyotaCare Camry was so nice to drive today — it rolled the center real smooth and I never had to push it too hard,” Bell said. “I’m proud to be part of the best team in the business — nobody works harder than the guys at Kyle Busch Motorsports. Since I joined the team, each time they took me to a harder race and now here I am standing in victory lane at one of the biggest events in the country. We were able to beat some of the best Late Model drivers in the world and we even had a NASCAR champion (Elliott) here today. It was an unbelievable day and I have to thank everyone at Toyota Racing for believing in me and giving me this great opportunity.”

Bell will be back behind the wheel of the No. 51 ToyotaCare Camry when the Southern Super Series resumes action at Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tenn., on April 11.

Christopher Bell and the KBM Super Late Model Program would like to thank the following partners for their support during the Rattler 250:

Notable wins for the KBM Late Model team since its inception in 2007 include: Wisconsin All-Star 100 at the Milwaukee Mile (Kyle Busch 2008), Red Bud 300 at Anderson Speedway (Kyle Busch 2009), Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway (Kyle Busch 2009 and Erik Jones 2013 & 2014), Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway (Kyle Busch 2009 and Erik Jones 2013), SpeedFest at Lanier National Speedway (Kyle Busch 2009 & 2010), SpeedFest at Watermelon Capital Speedway (Kyle Busch 2012), Rowdy 251 at Berlin Raceway (Kyle Busch 2010, 2011 & 2012), All-American 400 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville (TJ Reaid 2010), Slinger Nationals at Slinger Super Speedway (Kyle Busch 2011), the Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway (Kyle Busch 2011), Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at Richmond International Raceway (Kyle Busch 2013), the Howie Lettow Memorial at the Milwaukee Mile (Kyle Busch 2013 and Erik Jones 2014) and the Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway (Christopher Bell 2015).

 -KBM-