HAMPTON, Ga. — Christopher Bell went wire-to-wire from the pole in winning the opening stage of Saturday evening’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Bell paced all 40 laps ahead of team owner Kyle Busch to collect the maximum 10 bonus points in his early quest for the Truck Series championship.

“It was really, really good,” Bell said after the opening round of pit stops was completed. “We were losing a bit in the front tires, but I think everybody’s in the same boat here at Atlanta. I’m happy so far and it’s really fun to drive out here.”

Two cautions slowed the pace during the stage, beginning on the opening lap when Noah Gragson got loose in turn three and spun, collecting Brett Moffitt as the latter tried to duck low and avoid involvement.

Following a lap five restart, Bell again walked away from the field as Busch struggled to get going on the high lane, but a relatively calm green-flag run would be interrupted on lap 26, when Chase Elliott lost a right-rear tire on his GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado.

Elliott made it to pit road without major damage, while the race continued with a 10-lap dash to the end of the stage that saw Bell run out to a two-second lead while Busch had to rally from fifth after falling back on the outside lane at the final restart.

Bell ultimately beat out Busch for the stage win, with fellow Toyota drivers Matt Crafton and Ben Rhodes finishing third and fourth.

Austin Cindric was the highest-finishing Ford driver in fifth, ahead of Johnny Sauter, John Hunter Nemechek, Chase Briscoe, Grant Enfinger and Austin Dillon.

Briscoe’s strong run came to an end just before the restart for the beginning of stage two, when he dropped to pit road with a flat tire and lost three laps while the crew completed service on his machine.

About the Writer

Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.

Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.

The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.

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