Christopher Bell hasn’t had the best of luck in his last two outings in World of Outlaws iRacing competition.
You could hear the disappointment in Bell’s voice after he placed fifth in the opener on DIRTVision. In last Sunday’s event, the NASCAR star got put into the fence and placed 20th in the final rundown.
There was no angst Wednesday. Bell dominated the 35-lap World of Outlaws main, passing Kevin Swindell and sprinting away to the victory at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, which was televised on FS1.
“It’s tough,” said Bell of running against the wall the second half of the event. “The 900 horsepower … when the track gets slick, the car wants to start wallering on you going down the straightaway. They, you get to the cushion, and it gets rough.
“It’s just about trying to keep that thing as straight as you can. I’m not sure I got over half, three quarter throttle those last couple of laps.”
Kevin Swindell was on the move early, advancing from his seventh-place starting spot to the lead through the third and fourth corner. Kyle Larson settled into second by the completion of Lap 1.
The first caution was displayed on Lap 6, when Austin McCarl got sideways and hit the Turn 2 fence. The race went back to green on the ninth circuit, and Bell surged into the third position.
Bell took second from Larson on Lap 11. One lap later, David Gravel got spun and was forced to tag the rear. Another caution took place on Lap 16, and Bell pounced, taking the lead on the Lap 20 restart.
Gravel’s night came to an end on Lap 23. McCarl got into the fence, and Gravel had no place to go and got upside down.
The race went back to green, and Bell was gone on the top side of the speedway. He increased his lead to 1.7 seconds with five laps to go.
While Bell checked out, a fierce battle was taking place for third. Logan Schuchart, Carson Macedo, Trent Ivey, and Max McLaughlin took turns holding the third position as the laps winded down.
It was all Bell at the finish. He took the win over Swindell, Schuchart, Ivey, and McLaughlin, who completed the top five.
“It’s been really cool to see the evolution of iRacing,” Bell said. “I’ve been on this thing for so long now … it was a game for me and all my friends to get on here and race on. Now, it’s kind of our job.
“You see the NASCAR stuff Sundays and now with the Outlaws coming on board, it’s really cool to see iRacing capitalizing on this moment with everyone being at home. It gives us something to do, and it’s really fun to run against competitive drivers.”
Carson Macedo, Kyle Larson, Brian Brown, Robbie Kendall, and Ryan Bernal completed the top 10 in the main event.