T.J. Bell loves racing in Indianapolis and it showed tonight as he rocketed through the field to claim a career-best seventh-place finish in the Power Stroke Diesel 200 at the 0.686-mile oval of O'Reilly Raceway Park. Bell joined his teammate Donny Lia in the top-10, marking a milestone for the first year team of TRG Motorsports who was the only multi-truck organization with more than one truck in the top-10.
Bell and the No. 7 Iams Home4theHolidays.org Chevrolet started the 200-lap race from inside row nine. Bell's fast lap in qualifying was over a tenth of a second faster than his eighth-place time in final practice, but the pace of qualifying picked up - resulting in a 17th-place starting spot.
Bell proved quickly at the drop of the green flag that his No. 7 truck was strong as he bolted past four trucks and sat solid amongst the top-15 within the first 30 laps. Just eight laps later, Bell and the No. 60 truck made contact which sent Bell into a spin bringing out the caution and he was forced to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel.
After the stop, Bell returned to the track in 20th position and made quick work of his competition. Bell was in 12th position by lap 70 and was "absolutely murdering them in the corners". Even though his truck was handling great, he pitted for four tires and fuel for a second time - while under caution - on lap 87. His TRG crew ripped off a fast stop, returning Bell to the track in ninth position.
When the race restarted on lap 91, Bell keyed the radio to tell the crew that the new tires caused his Chevrolet to be "tight in the center" but Bell still managed to hang on strong in the top-10. Bell's engine started running hot while running nose-to-tail, so Crew Chief Butch Hylton used the caution on lap 127 to bring Bell in to clean the grill, take on four new tires, fuel, and two chassis adjustments. The stop was Bell's final visit to pit road for the night and he restarted in 20th position.
Bell blazed through the field and back into the top-10 by lap 180, avoiding several cautions along the way. Bell was in seventh spot by lap 190 and hung on to claim his best career finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
"I'll tell you what; these guys built an unbelievable truck," said Bell. "As soon as they dropped the green flag we went forward. We just took off. We were a rocket ship on long runs. Our PME engine ran strong all night. We made contact with the 60 truck in a racing incident and had to go to the back and we drove all the way back to the front. Man, I had so much fun. If they gave out an award for passing the most trucks, I think we did it today. And these guys all deserve it. That was fun for me. These guys did all the work and I can't thank Heathcliff's Cat Litter and Home4theHolidays.org enough for giving me this opportunity. It was a good time."
It was a good time too for Team Principal Kevin Buckler who had two trucks in the top-10. "Two trucks in the top ten is just awesome," said Buckler. "Both drivers drove their hearts out and really showed their stuff. I'll tell you what, these guys can drive. TJ and Donny did a fantastic job. I think we had a little bit more for them though. Give us 10 more laps and these trucks would have moved up a little bit more. I'm proud of both drivers, both trucks, and everyone who works at TRG Motorsports."
Bell will have a shot to top his seventh-place finish and help raise awareness for Home4theHolidays.org when he returns to the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet on August 9th for the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Live television coverage will begin on the SPEED Channel at 7 p.m. ET with radio coverage coming to you live courtesy of MRN Radio.