Christopher Bell, driver of the #62 Halmar Infrastructure Development Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Tennessee Army National Guard 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 10, 2026 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Hot News NASCAR Truck Series

NASCAR News: Bell Scores Tennessee Army National Guard 250 Victory

Posted by AR1 staff

Full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell made the most of his opportunity behind the wheel of the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota, powering to victory Friday night in the Tennessee Army National Guard 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Bell grabbed the lead from Christian Eckes on Lap 188 and held off a hard-charging Chandler Smith after the final restart, winning by just 0.330 seconds. The triumph marked Bell’s first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory since 2017, his eighth career win in the series, and his first-ever triumph on the 0.533-mile short track.

The win carried extra meaning for Bell, who was substituting for the injured Stewart Friesen. He had filled in for Friesen last year at Watkins Glen and came agonizingly close to victory. This time, racing as Friesen’s teammate, Bell finally delivered the team its long-awaited trip to Victory Lane.

“Oh, man, that was just so awesome to win a truck race,” Bell said afterward. “It’s been since 2017 that I’ve won one of these things. It’s a lot of fun racing with this group. These wins mean a lot to this team and this organization.”

The race was not without drama. Corey Heim’s quest to complete the Triple Truck Challenge and pocket a $350,000 bonus ended abruptly on Lap 180. Moments after muscling past Eckes to take his only lap in the lead, contact from Eckes’ front bumper sent Heim spinning hard into the Turn 1 wall. Pole winner Kaden Honeycutt and two-time Bristol winner Layne Riggs were also collected in the chain-reaction crash, which brought out a red flag. Both Heim and Honeycutt were eliminated.

Heim was gracious afterward, saying he didn’t believe Eckes wrecked him intentionally.

Christian Eckes, who led a race-high 132 laps and won Stage 1, recovered to finish fifth. Chandler Smith, Giovanni Ruggiero, and Cup Series regular Ross Chastain rounded out the top five. Jake Garcia, Dawson Sutton, Kyle Busch, Carson Hocevar, and rookie Brenden Queen completed the top 10.

The caution-filled event featured nine yellow flags for 76 laps. Ben Rhodes claimed Stage 2 by staying out during a late caution.

Bell, who won last fall’s Cup Series race at Bristol, returns to the track Sunday for the Food City 500 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Christopher Bell, driver of the #62 Halmar Infrastructure Development Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Tennessee Army National Guard 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 10, 2026 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race – Tennessee Army National Guard 250

1. (15)  Christopher Bell(i), Toyota, 250.

2. (16)  Chandler Smith, Ford, 250.

3. (10)  Giovanni Ruggiero, Toyota, 250.

4. (11)  Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 250.

5. (2)  Christian Eckes, Chevrolet, 250.

6. (5)  Jake Garcia, Ford, 250.

7. (34)  Dawson Sutton, Chevrolet, 250.

8. (8)  Kyle Busch(i), Chevrolet, 250.

9. (7)  Carson Hocevar(i), Chevrolet, 250.

10. (28)  Brenden Queen #, RAM, 250.

11. (9)  Ben Rhodes, Ford, 250.

12. (23)  Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 250.

13. (20)  Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 250.

14. (4)  Chase Briscoe(i), Toyota, 250.

15. (14)  Justin Haley, RAM, 250.

16. (13)  Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 250.

17. (27)  Andres Perez De Lara, Chevrolet, 250.

18. (36)  Daniel Suarez(i), Chevrolet, 250.

19. (26)  Mini Tyrrell #, RAM, 250.

20. (22)  Tanner Gray, Toyota, 250.

21. (29)  Carson Ferguson, RAM, 250.

22. (3)  Layne Riggs, Ford, 249.

23. (6)  Ty Majeski, Ford, 248.

24. (33)  Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 247.

25. (25)  Kris Wright, Chevrolet, 247.

26. (21)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr(i), Chevrolet, 247.

27. (18)  Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 243.

28. (17)  Cole Butcher #, Ford, 241.

29. (19)  Corey LaJoie, RAM, Accident, 214.

30. (12)  Corey Heim, Toyota, Accident, 179.

31. (1)  Kaden Honeycutt, Toyota, Accident, 179.

32. (30)  Luke Baldwin, Ford, Accident, 178.

33. (35)  Timmy Hill, Toyota, Accident, 120.

34. (24)  Tyler Reif, Chevrolet, Accident, 117.

35. (31)  Frankie Muniz, Ford, Accident, 115.

36. (32)  Clayton Green, Ford, Too Slow, 103.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  66.644 mph.

Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 59 Mins, 58 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.330 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  9 for 76 laps.

Lead Changes:  7 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   K. Honeycutt 1-2;C. Eckes 3-122;B. Rhodes 123-135;K. Busch(i) 136-174;C. Eckes 175-178;C. Heim 179;C. Eckes 180-187;C. Bell(i) 188-250.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Christian Eckes 3 times for 132 laps; Christopher Bell(i) 1 time for 63 laps; Kyle Busch(i) 1 time for 39 laps; Ben Rhodes 1 time for 13 laps; Kaden Honeycutt 1 time for 2 laps; Corey Heim 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 91,34,11,99,98,77,17,5,45,7

Stage #2 Top Ten: 99,7,16,1,62,91,10,11,98,34