Bell at Chicagoland…The EnjoyIllinois.com 225 may be the inaugural race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Chicagoland Speedway but TJ Bell is no stranger to the track. In 2004, Bell competed in an ARCA Re/Max race where he started 15th and drove his way to a second place finish, including leading 40 laps at the 1.5 mile-oval. Bell also tested a Camping World Truck Series Truck at Chicagoland in 2008, turning more than 150 laps around the Speedway.
· Back to Back Top-10's for the #11… Bell and the #11 team came out of the gate strong by earning a fifth place finish in only the second race of the season at California Speedway. That high soon vanished when the team hit a string of bad luck that persisted for several weeks. The season has turned around for the Red Horse Racing team in recent weeks and Bell is reclaiming his place inside the top-10. In the last two events at Nashville Superspeedway and Bristol Motor Speedway, Bell has earned back to back top-10 finishes. He fought hard to earn a 10th place finish in Nashville and brought home an eighth place finish in Bristol after having no radio communication with the team for the entire 200-lap event. Bell has also earned four consecutive top-15 starts.
· Birthday Boy…TJ Bell celebrates his 29th birthday on Tuesday, August 25th. He says there would be no greater birthday gift that a trip to Victory Lane! Teammate Timothy Peters will also be trying to earn that same Birthday gift. Peters will also be turning 29 the day after the Chicagoland race on August 29th. The two Red Horse Racing drivers were born just four days apart.
TJ Bell on racing at Chicagoland Speedway "I tested a truck at Chicagoland last year and that makes me feel a lot more comfortable going into this race. It's a fun racetrack. It's like Kansas in a lot of ways but the front straightaway isn't really a straightaway, it's more of a "D" shape. I am looking forward to the day of testing on Friday. We are taking a truck I am really excited about running. It's the same truck we raced at Charlotte and it ran so well there, I'm confident we can keep the top-10 streak going this weekend."
Crew Chief Rick Gay on Chicagoland Speedway "I've been to Chicagoland for several of the Truck Series tests but I have also crew chiefed a Nationwide car there so I feel prepared for this weekend. We are taking the same truck we raced at Charlotte and we have done a lot to it to prepare for this race. It's been to the 7 post, and the wind tunnel. The day of testing on Friday should give us the time we need on track make our Toyota Tundra even better for the race."
Equipment Information The #11 Red Horse Racing team will compete with chassis # 110 in the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway. This is the same chassis that Bell raced at Lowe's Motor Speedway where he qualified 16th and finished 30th due to an early race accident.
