Preview – The Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway

RACE INFO: The Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, August 16, 2019. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN, Sirius XM 90, and PRN Radio

Defending Winner: Christopher Bell returns to Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) looking to pickup where he left off in the spring and earn back-to-back wins at the 0.533-mile track. Bell started eighth and led three different times for a total of 57 laps to take home the checkered flag.

I’ve had my eye on Bristol and keep reminding myself that Bristol is coming up. I can’t wait to get back on track there, it’s one of my favorites.

Bell at Bristol Motor Speedway: Bell has three prior NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at BMS, earning one win, two top-five and two top-10 finishes. Bell also has three NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series (NGOTS) races at Bristol, earning one pole and two top-10 finishes.

“Freezing” The Field at Bristol: A large group of employees and customers from the Heat Transfer Product Group (“HTPG”), the commercial refrigeration business unit of Rheem, will be in attendance at Bristol to see Christopher Bell and the No. 20 Rheem Toyota Supra race to Victory Lane again. The HTPG group will be decked out in Rheem gear and Bell’s car will carry the group’s identity on the upper quarter panels and C-posts, while its Russell, Kramer and other brand logos are located on several areas of the Rheem No. 20 machine.

Mid-Ohio Recap: Bell showcased some road racing skills at Mid-Ohio, leading 15 laps and earning a second-place finish at the 2.4-mile road course. The finish comes on the heels of a second-place finish the weekend before at Watkins Glen International. The NXS has one more road course remaining this season coming up at Road America.

Points Update: Following Mid-Ohio, Bell and his Rheem team remain second in the series standings, 28 points behind the leader, but continue to hold the No. 1 playoff spot.

Joe Gibbs Racing at Bristol: JGR has 96 NXS starts at BMS with 13 wins, 32 top-five and 47 top-10 finishes. The championship-winning organization has 10 pole awards with an average start of 11.3 and an average finish of 14.4.

Christopher Bell: “I’ve had my eye on Bristol and keep reminding myself that Bristol is coming up. I can’t wait to get back on track there, it’s one of my favorites. It’s a fun track, it is so fast and small and racing under the lights is always exciting. The spring race was really fun for us and I’m looking to pull off another win Friday night.”

Christopher Bell’s Xfinity Series Stats