DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Christopher Bell was released from a local hospital early Saturday morning. He was sent there to be evaluated following a crash in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race where his truck tumbled 8 1/2 times on the last lap at Daytona International Speedway.
Bell climbed from his destroyed vehicle and walked away. He finished 16th. Johnny Sauter won the race.
The 21-year-old rookie for Kyle Busch Motorsports was running third when he was bumped from behind. That sent his truck into the vehicles of Ryan Truex and Timothy Peters. The contact turned Bell’s truck toward the wall. It turned and then tumbled, beginning a series of rolls toward Turn 1.
“He was pretty high in the air,’' said John Hunter Nemechek, who placed 17th. “It felt like I drove underneath him, but I couldn’t tell you.’'
Said Parker Kligerman, who finished third: “Kudos to Chris Bell for holding onto that as long as he did, but then eventually he just lost it.’'
Bell gained attention last season when he won the Camping World Truck race at Eldora Speedway in his third career series start. The Norman, Oklahoma, native previously raced sprint and midget cars. He was the 2013 U.S. Auto Club national midget champion and rookie of the year.
Bell drove in seven Camping World Truck races last year and is scheduled to run the full season this year.