Bell to Compete in Opening Two Nights of Kings Royal Prior to Dover

Christopher Bell, who has scored a NASCAR Cup Series-high three points-paying wins along with a victory in the NASCAR All-Star Race this season, will get back behind the wheel of a dirt Sprint Car next week to compete in the opening two nights of the 42nd annual Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway, which is one of sprint car racing's major crown-jewel events.

“NASCAR has the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400, and Southern 500. Sprint car racing has the Kings Royal and the Knoxville Nationals. Those are always the big events,” said Bell, who will pilot the No. 69k 410 winged Sprint Car for team owner Don Kreitz Jr., a National Sprint Car Hall of Famer.

For those not well-versed in the dirt track world, who are wondering how prestigious of an event the Kings Royal is, Bell, who will be unable to compete in the event's Main Event on Saturday due to his NASCAR Cup Series schedule at Dover Motor Speedway, still made a point of committing to competing at Eldora Speedway on Wednesday, July 16, and Thursday, July 17.

“The Kings Royal is a huge event, and it’s always an honor to be a part of it, even if it’s only for the first two nights,” Bell explained.

Interstate Batteries, a longtime supporter of Joe Gibbs Racing, will serve as the primary sponsor of Bell's run on Wednesday and Thursday at Eldora Speedway. Bell is thankful for the continued support from the automotive battery producer.

“Interstate Batteries’ commitment to motorsports is impressive,” Bell said in a press release. “They’re synonymous with NASCAR because they’ve been with Joe Gibbs Racing since its beginning – 34 years and counting. But Interstate Batteries has been on dragsters, powerboats, bikes, sprint cars – all kinds of racing machines. To get a win at Eldora, and to do it with Interstate Batteries, would make for a heckuva night. They’ve bought a suite and they’re all coming in for the two nights I’m racing. Would love to be able to deliver for them.”

While Bell, who cut his teeth racing on dirt tracks prior to moving into the stock car racing world, will undergo one of the busiest weeks of the NASCAR Cup Series season, from a travel standpoint (the distance between this weekend's race at Sonoma Raceway and next week's race at Dover is 2,900 miles), Bell feels stopping in Rossburg, Ohio between the two destinations and mixing it up on the dirt will help keep his skills sharp.

“Dirt racing, for sure, gives you versatility, and you have to be versatile to be successful at it. You have to be good at adapting to ever-changing track conditions and the conditions the cars throw your way,” Bell explained. “That’s something I grew up with, just racing different disciplines, different styles of cars, and I think that’s translated to my NASCAR career, just being able to not get set in your ways, and racing with an open mind and knowing that sometimes different lanes are going to open up. You use different driving styles and techniques, and I do think that comes from my background.”

Bell, who was a frequent competitor in dirt racing while he opened his NASCAR National Series career, had to shelve his dirt racing pursuits for several seasons due to Joe Gibbs Racing issuing a policy forbidding its drivers competing in external events.

In 2024, Joe Gibbs Racing relaxed the extra-curricular racing ban on its drivers, and Bell, along with Ty Gibbs, have competed in numerous dirt racing events since.

Bell heads into this weekend's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings. Bell has finished outside of the top 15 in each of the last three races. He'll look to rebuild momentum beginning this weekend before heading to Eldora and Dover next week.

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