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Christopher Bell wins the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Bristol.
For the first time since 2017, Christopher Bell is a winner in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
In a race with seven Cup Series regulars in the field, Bell came out on top.
The Joe Gibbs Racing Cup star paced the field for 63 of 250 laps in the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota en route to the checkered flag in the Tennessee Army National Guard 250 at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
It marked Bell’s eighth career NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory. His last win came in 2017, the same year the Oklahoma native won the Truck Series title.
Chandler Smith scored a runner-up finish, followed by Gio Ruggiero in third, Ross Chastain in fourth, and Christian Eckes rounded out the top five.
Jake Garcia placed sixth, followed by Dawson Sutton in seventh, Kyle Busch in eighth, Carson Hocevar in ninth, and Brenden Queen rounded out the top 10.
Christopher Bell on Bristol win: ‘That was just so awesome’
When HFR reached out to Bell to run select NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races in 2026, he jumped at the chance.
Bell was a fill-in driver for Stewart Friesen last year after the driver of the No. 52 was sidelined due to injuries sustained in a dirt modified crash last July.
After falling short of victory at Watkins Glen last year, Bell was thrilled to put it all together on Friday night in Bristol.
“That was just so awesome to be able to win a Truck race. Man, it’s been since 2017 since I won one of these things. It’s a lot of fun racing with this HFR group. I got the unfortunate call last year to drive for Stewart [Friesen] whenever he got hurt and we went out to Watkins Glen and almost got it. They’ve been working really hard to get to victory lane,” Bell said.
Bristol Motor Speedway is Bell’s favorite racetrack to go to.
With a mix of classic short-track racing and high speeds, the driver of the No. 20 Cup car said there is no track like “The Last Great Colosseum.”
“I always tell everybody this is my favorite place to go, because it’s so fast. … You’ve got that short-track racing with intermediate speed. I love this racetrack and I can’t wait for Sunday,” Bell said.
Bell enters Sunday’s Food City 500 as the defending Cup winner at Bristol. The 31-year-old captured the checkered flag in last fall’s Bristol night race, his fourth win of the 2025 campaign.
Christian Eckes, Ben Rhodes win stages at Bristol
Kaden Honeycutt led the field to the green flag, but his lead was short-lived as Christian Eckes got by him in the opening laps.
Eckes wheeled his No. 91 machine to the stage one victory with Layne Riggs in second. The opening stage saw one caution for a spin-out by Andres Perez De Lara on lap 16.
Eckes continued to lead the charge through stage two.
With 13 laps remaining, a three-truck incident involving Timmy Hill, Frankie Muniz, and Tyler Reif brought out the caution flag. In the subsequent round of pit stops, Ben Rhodes assumed the lead.
Rhodes wheeled the No. 99 to the stage two win, followed by Kyle Busch in second.
Corey Heim, Christian Eckes tangle in late fight for the lead
Busch took over the lead to begin the final stage.
Under a caution period with less than 80 laps to go, Busch faded back to 10th after having trouble re-firing his engine while saving fuel.
With Busch’s miscue, Heim took over the lead.
Battling for the lead with 71 laps to go, Eckes got into the back of Heim halfway down the frontstretch, sending the No. 1 truck crashing. The incident collected Honeycutt, Riggs, and Chase Briscoe.
From Christopher Bell’s team’s perspective, Eckes’ move was egregious.
“He just flat dumped him,” Bell’s team said via John Newby on X.
Meanwhile, Heim had a different perspective.
In his post-crash interview with FS1, the defending CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion believes there were no ill intentions on Eckes’ part.
“I don’t think he did it on purpose or anything. Obviously, I kinda sent him in. I think the lead was going to be super important to win the race. … I think he was just trying to get behind me and then ship me, which is totally fine, because I did it to him. He just misjudged it. I’ve raced him for a long time and I don’t think he’d ever do that on purpose, so we’re all good,” Heim said.
Chandler Smith takes over the points lead after Bristol
Following 250 laps around Bristol Motor Speedway, Chandler Smith took over the points lead.
After six races, Smith has a one-point lead over Kaden Honeycutt, who sits in second. Third is Heim (-4), fourth is Riggs (-4), and fifth is Eckes (-17).
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series circuit heads to the Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, May 1. The race is scheduled to get underway at 8 p.m. Eastern time on FS1.
John Breeden John Breeden is a NASCAR contributor at Heavy Sports. He has five years of sports journalism experience. He graduated from James Madison University in May of 2022 with a degree in media arts and design. John is also a sports reporter for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Previously, John was a sports writer for JMU’s The Breeze and a NASCAR content writer for Sportskeeda. More about John Breeden