Pontoon Beach, Illinois. . Christopher Bell certainly rang the Bells loudly at the final of the Gold Crown National at Tri City Speedway. The 50 lap main event of the three day program paid $10,000 to Bell for the win.
Bell wins the Gold Crown National and pockets $10,000
During the course of the Gold Crown Nationals USAC/POWRI Co Sanctioned event Zach Daum locked up his first Powri Championship from defending Champion Andrew Felker . The Powri Title was a first for the Toyota TRD
Zach Daum runs fourth at the Gold Crown to lock up his first Powri Midget Title
With preliminary wins to Kunz Teammate Rico Abreu and Bell’s main challenger for the National Honda Dirt Championship Bryan Clauson, Christopher Bell stormed with an impressive win over Danny Stratton and Rico Abreu on the final night.
Clauson the early leader withdrew with a punctured oil line and from that point on Bell was unchallenged for his 5th win of the season.
After coming into contact with Team mate Tanner Thorson and Jake Blackhurst Rico recovered from his flip to add another podium to his seasons tally .Abreu was gifted the 3rd placing after Chris Windom failed the technical examination at the weight in.
Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports – Toyota TRD #71 Bullet/Speedway Toyota team yet again set the benchmark for other teams to reach. Three perfectly prepared race cars and three drivers who always manage to find their way to the head of any race. If it is not Bell winning then there is a fair chance that the win will go to Rico Abreu in the 67 K Bullet Speedway Toyota.
$10,000 in the bank but Bell will be more impressed that he has been able to extend his lead over Bryan Clauson in the USAC NEW /HONDA National Dirt Championship.
Driver quotes
Christopher Bell “We finally got to start closer to the front tonight, and I knew we were really good from the start as we jumped up behind those two in the first couple laps. I wanted to get the lead and be able to run my race, so I was just focusing on staying smooth and keeping my tires under me. The cushion got really treacherous, so I was just making sure I didn’t tear the car up and try to avoid the big curb while still using the moisture. It’s pretty cool to win another big midget race, so we’ll go out west and try to win a couple more,” Bell said.
Danny Stratton “It was a lot of fun racing for second there at the end – Chris (Windom) and I have raced together before and he does a great job. The track was perfect for these cars. We made some changes under the red, but the biggest thing was changing my line as it took rubber in a few spots. I got some big runs through there and got to throw some sliders to make my way through there. I woulda liked to be farther up on the last restart and have a shot at Bell, but he’s been on fire this year and running second to them isn’t too bad at all. I just have to thank the Hmiels and their team for such a good run,” Stratton said.
Danny Stratton on hos way to second at Tri City
Gold Crown Nationals
Rico Abreu “You can’t ever give up. You’re gonna have nights like those in auto racing. We were just racing in such a big pack there, and I had nowhere to go. I came back and thought I was done, undressing and cussing myself, and some guys – Bryan Clauson and his guys – are going to work on my car, changing a front end and everything. My car was still really good after all that, and I had to move around a lot towards the end. We’re a confident team and know it’s never over until the checkered,” Abreu said.
Bell and Abreu at the Gold Crown Nationals
FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Chris Bell, 2. Danny Stratton, 3. Rico Abreu, 4. Zach Daum, 5. Alex Bright, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Jonathan Beason, 8. Jerry Coons, Jr., 9. Darren Hagen, 10. Dave Darland, 11. Parker Price-Miller, 12. Brad Kuhn, 13. Andrew Felker, 14. Caleb Armstrong, 15. Tim Buckwalter, 16. Jake Blackhurst, 17. Tracy Hines, 18. Billy Wease, 19. Dalton Armstrong, 20. Brenden Bright, 21. Austin Brown, 22. Tyler Thomas, 23. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 24. Tanner Thorson, 25. Shane Cottle, 26. Bryan Clauson, 27. Chris Windom. NT
——————————–
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Clauson, Laps 10-50 Bell.
**Abreu & Blackhurst flipped on lap 31 of the Feature.
NEW HONDA NATIONAL DIRT MIDGET POINTS: 1-Bell-899; 2-Clauson-793; 3-Hines-749; 4-Hagen-718; 5-Abreu-707; 6-Coons-706; 7-Daum-644; 8-Felker-604; 9-Kuhn-515; 10-Thorson-506.
NEXT HONDA NATIONAL DIRT MIDGET RACE: November 14 – Peoria, Arizona – Canyon Speedway Park – “Western World Championships”
