Charlie Hatch Cincinnati Enquirer SPARTA, Ky. — Christopher Bell's race started with a spin. During his qualifying round, Bell spun out and was fortunate not to slam into a wall. His consequence was starting 12th. Yet over the course of a seven-caution race, the rookie gradually passed car after car and claimed the lead and the win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300 on Friday night at Kentucky Speedway. Bell's win is the third of his career. Before the race, he and his crew thought they had a car that could win, or at least finish in the top five. The qualifying round could've changed that, but the 23-year-old said the actual race was all about his mindset. "You just have to tell yourself going into it and continue to tell yourself a half-lap in, a lap in, five laps in, 10 laps in that it’s a 200-lap race," he said afterward. Still, after Stage 1, he was 14th. After Stage 2, he was seventh. "I was getting impatient," he said. "But the next thing I know, I look at the board and I think we’re only on Lap 92 or 93 and we still have over half the race to go." Kyle Busch, who's won this race three times, led the majority of the race (111 laps). But toward the end of the race, he lost his spot and drifted back to his eventual third-place finish. Had he won, he'd own the track record for victories. When Bell was asked about Busch's slowdown, which Bell's crew chief Jason Ratcliff said likely came from hitting the wall twice, Bell shrugged off Busch and said "I guess it shows he's human." The rookie and his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Rheem Toyota led the final 14 laps of the race. In his post-race press conference, he remained humble. Rather than taking pride in a literal come-from-behind win, he said the crew consistently put him in good positions and it's up to him to execute in the same manner. "I just gotta keep digging," he said. "Two wins is not a successful year for us. We go to the track every single week with a shot to win. For the most part, we start the race with a shot to win every week. It's just a matter of me capitalizing." Bell should give himself credit. Even when it appeared he'd start a race with a slim shot to win, he capitalized and made a driving legend look "human" in the process. Results Saturday At Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Ky. Lap length: 1.50 miles (Start position in parentheses) 1. (12) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 200 laps, 44 points. 2. (5) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 2038. 3. (3) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200, 0. 4. (2) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200, 41. 5. (1) Cole Custer, Ford, 200, 49. 6. (8) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 200, 38. 7. (6) John Hunter Nemechek, Chevrolet, 200, 48. 8. (9) Ryan Reed, Ford, 200, 29. 9. (14) Paul Menard, Ford, 200, 0. 10. (4) Austin Cindric, Ford, 200, 40. 11. (7) Matt Tifft, Chevrolet, 200, 33. 12. (10) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200, 26. 13. (13) Ryan Truex, Chevrolet, 200, 24. 14. (16) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, 0. 15. (17) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 200, 22. 16. (19) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 200, 21. 17. (21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 200, 20. 18. (20) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 200, 19. 19. (24) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 198, 18. 20. (15) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, 198, 17. 21. (26) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 196, 16. 22. (33) Ray Black Jr, Chevrolet, 196, 15. 23. (30) David Starr, Chevrolet, 195, 14. 24. (36) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 195, 13. 25. (37) Blake Jones, Chevrolet, 194, 12. 26. (27) Brandon Hightower, Toyota, 194, 11. 27. (18) Ty Majeski, Ford, 193, 10. 28. (34) Josh Bilicki, Toyota, 193, 9. 29. (38) Vinnie Miller, Chevrolet, 192, 8. 30. (39) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 190, 7. 31. (35) Chad Finchum, Chevrolet, transmission, 172, 6. 32. (25) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 168, 5. 33. (22) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, accident, 161, 4. 34. (23) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, suspension, 119, 3. 35. (31) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, garage, 107, 2. 36. (11) Brandon Jones, Toyota, accident, 104, 12. 37. (29) Timmy Hill, Dodge, fuelpump, 55, 1. 38. (32) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, vibration, 25, 1. 39. (40) Josh Reaume, Chevrolet, overheating, 9, 0. 40. (28) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, electrical, 6, 1. ––– Race Statistics Average Speed of Race Winner: 131.884 mph. Time of Race: 2 hours, 16 minutes, 29 seconds. Margin of Victory: 0.848 seconds. Caution Flags: 7 for 32 laps. Lead Changes: 8 among 7 drivers. Lap Leaders: C. Custer 1-14; K. Busch 15-79; J. Nemechek 80-93; K. Busch 94-134; M. Annett 135-138; K. Busch 139-143; D. Hemric 144-151; J. Allgaier 152-183; C. Bell 184-200. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Busch 3 times for 111 laps; J. Allgaier 1 time for 32 laps; C. Bell 1 time for 17 laps; J. Nemechek 1 time for 14 laps; C. Custer 1 time for 14 laps; D. Hemric 1 time for 8 laps; M. Annett 1 time for 4 laps.<doc-sep>Both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series will be on track Friday at Kentucky Speedway. Cup teams will have two practices before qualifying in the evening. Xfinity teams will qualify and race in the evening. Here is Friday’s schedule: (All times are Eastern) 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. – Cup garage open Noon – Xfinity garage opens Noon – 12:50 p.m. – Cup practice (NBCSN) 2 – 2:50 p.m. – Final Cup practice (NBCSN) 5:05 p.m. – Xfinity qualifying; multi-car/three rounds (NBCSN) 6:15 p.m. – Xfinity driver-crew chief meeting 6:40 p.m. – Cup qualifying; multi-car/three rounds (NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) 7:30 p.m. – Xfinity driver introductions 8 p.m. – Xfinity Alsco 300; 200 laps/300 miles (NBCSN, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)<doc-sep>It's race day at Kentucky Speedway, and we’ve got all the information you need to get ready for Saturday night's Quaker 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race: START TIME: Carlos Maurer, President of Shell Lubricants Americas, will instruct drivers to start their engines at 7:37 p.m. ET followed by the green flag at 7:45 p.m. ET. RACE DISTANCE: The Quaker State 400 is 267 laps around the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway for a total of 400.5 miles. RACE STAGES: After a successful run last season, NASCAR will once again be dividing races into stages and handing out points. Here are the segments for tonight's race: Stage 1: 80 laps, Stage 2: 80 laps, Stage 3: 107 laps. NATIONAL ANTHEM: The Thoroughbred Chorus of Louisville will perform the national anthem at 7:31 p.m. ET, followed by a flyover by two F-16s from the 187th Fighter Wing of the Alabama Air National Guard out of Montgomery, Ala. TV/RADIO SCHEDULE: The race will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), with a pre-show beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Radio calls can be found on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius/XM NASCAR Radio. LIVE STREAMING: NBCSports.com will live-stream the race for those who sign in with their cable/satellite provider's credentials. PREVIEW:Playoff hopefuls look to break through at Kentucky CHEVROLET:Finds itself chasing Toyotoa at Kentucky Speedway ROUSH:Legendary team owner hopes to cross Kentucky off bucket list KYLE BUSCH:Unleashes harsh burn on Stenhouse over Daytona race WEATHER: The race will begin under sunny skies with temperatures in the upper 80s, giving way to the low 80s and upper 70s at the conclusion of the race. The Weather Channel predicts no precipitation Saturday night. LAST TIME: Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch led a combined 264 of 274 laps last summer, but it was Truex who walked away with the victory, leading the final 46 laps including a restart in overtime. Busch finished fifth. LINEUP: Truex will defend his Kentucky victory from the pole and will start alongside last week's winner, Erik Jones, who endured the chaos at Daytona International Speedway for his first career Cup Series win. Here's the starting lineup for tonight's Quaker State 400 (car number in parentheses): 1. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota 2. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota 3. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford 4. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford 5. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota 6. (21) Paul Menard, Ford 7. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford 8. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford 9. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford 10. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet 11. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota 12. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford 13. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet 14. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford 15. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet 16. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet 17. (6) Matt Kenseth, Ford 18. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet 19. (22) Joey Logano, Ford 20. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet 21. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet 22. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet 23. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford 24. (38) David Ragan, Ford 25. (43) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet 26. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet 27. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet 28. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet 29. (95) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet 30. (15) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet 31. (72) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet 32. (23) JJ Yeley, Toyota 33. (00) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet 34. (51) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet 35. (99) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet 36. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota 37. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford 38. (7) Jesse Little, Chevrolet 39. (66) Timmy Hill, Toyota Follow Horrow on Twitter @EllenJHorrow<doc-sep>
Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) The last time the Xfinity Series raced at Kentucky Speedway, Tyler Reddick won to earn his first career series victory. Could the same thing happen in tonight’s Alsco 300? Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones are among those hoping that is the case. Here’s all the info for tonight’s race. (All times are Eastern) START: Larry Bailey, Chairman, Bowling Green Area Convention Visitors Bureau, will give the command to start engines at 8:17 p.m. The green flag is scheduled to wave at 8:25 p.m. DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 200 laps (300 miles) around the 1.5-mile track. STAGES: Stage 1 ends on Lap 45. Stage 2 ends on Lap 90. PRERACE SCHEDULE: Garage opens at noon. Qualifying is at 5:05 p.m. Driver/crew chief meeting is at 6:15 p.m. Driver introductions are at 7:45 p.m. NATIONAL ANTHEM: County music recording artist Andy Velo will perform the anthem at 8:11 p.m. TV/RADIO: NBCSN will broadcast the race beginning at 8 p.m. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. with Countdown to Green on NBCSN. Performance Racing Network’s radio broadcast begins at 7:30 p.m. and also can be heard at goprn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have PRN’s broadcast. FORECAST: wunderground.com calls for sunny skies with a high of 86 degrees and a zero percent chance of rain at the start of the race. LAST TIME: Tyler Reddick won by 14.5 seconds in September, finishing ahead of Brennan Poole and Justin Allgaier. Kyle Busch won at Kentucky last July, finishing ahead of Ryan Blaney and Erik Jones. STARTING LINEUP: Qualifying is at 5:05 p.m.