Two years ago, Christopher Bell entered the gates at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway for the Short Track Nationals as a relative unknown in the national sprint car ranks.
When the 19-year-old from Norman, Okla., arrives tonight, he does so as one of the hottest sprint car drivers on the planet who is likely getting closer each day to even bigger things. Bell had just a handful of starts in full-sized sprint cars when he came to the Short Track Nationals in 2012 and was little-known outside of the Tulsa-area micro-sprint ranks. Competing against many of the nation’s best sprint drivers, he led much of the main event and finished second. He returned last year and again wound up in the runner-up spot.
At a glance
WHEN Tonight-Saturday night. Gates open at 5 p.m., racing starts at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE I-30 Speedway, Little Rock
ADMISSION Adult grandstand admission is $15 tonight, $20 Thursday and Friday, $28 Saturday. Children’s grandstand admission is $3 tonight, Thursday and Friday and $6 Saturday.
PAY PER VIEW The event is available for online for $24.99 per night or $69.99 for all four nights. More information available at shorttracknationals…
Now competing on several national circuits, Bell was one of the winningest drivers in the nation this season while competing in several openwheel disciplines, including winged and wingless 410 and 360 sprints, midgets and Champ cars. It also appears to be just a matter of time before he moves up into the NASCAR ranks after he began driving a developmental asphalt late model entry this summer for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
“I don’t know what I’m going to be doing next year. I really don’t,” Bell said last week when asked about his future plans. “We do need to figure that out. Hopefully, we’ll know something by the Chili Bowl [in January].”
Bell’s chief priority this season has been USAC’s national midget dirt tour, where he won the national championship last season. He is in second place in the standings this season behind Curb-Agajanian Motorsports teammate Rico Abreu of Rutherford, Calif.
Bell has enjoyed success at every level he has raced during a busy season. In 91 open-wheel events entered, he has earned 21 victories, 47 topfive finishes and 61 top-10s.
After making his first asphalt start driving a Busch late model in early September, he won in his third start in the car last Saturday by taking a Pro All Star Series 150-lapper at the 3/8-mile Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, N.C.
“We’ve had a pretty good season,” Bell said. “That’s a credit to all of the teams I’ve worked with. I run with some pretty awesome teams, and that helps a lot.”
The Short Track Nationals figures to again draw around 100 of the nation’s top sprint drivers as they compete for a spot in Saturday night’s main event, which pays $15,000 to win and $2,500 to start.
“I like that place a lot,” said Bell, who will be driving the entry of car owner Brandon Berryman for the second consecutive year. “My style seems to like the short track stuff more, and I really enjoy the format they have for this event.”
The event starts tonight with the second annual Short Track Nationals Open, a $2,000-to-win event that figures to draw more than 70 drivers who will use the event to prepare and aid in qualifying for the main event.
Thursday and Friday will be qualifying nights with the entry list split between the two nights of racing. There will be heats, qualifiers and B-Mains to set the field for each night’s preliminary feature. The top three finishers from both prelims will earn spots at the front of Saturday night’s main event.