BRISTOL, Tenn. — Full-time Cup Series driver Christopher Bell made the most of a one-off Truck Series start Friday night, taking the lead from Christian Eckes on Lap 188 of 250 and holding on to win the Tennessee Army National Guard 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Driving the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota, Bell held off Chandler Smith’s Front Row Motorsports Ford by 0.330 seconds for his first Truck Series win since 2017 and the eighth of his career — his first on Bristol’s 0.533-mile concrete oval.
The race turned dramatic on Lap 180 when Corey Heim, chasing a $350,000 bonus for a third straight Triple Truck Challenge sweep, was tagged by Eckes and sent into the Turn 1 wall, collecting pole-sitter Kaden Honeycutt and two-time Bristol winner Layne Riggs in a chain-reaction crash that ended several contenders’ nights. Eckes recovered to lead a race-high 132 laps but faded to fifth after the final restart, finishing behind Bell, Smith, Gio Ruggiero and Cup regular Ross Chastain. Bell will return to Bristol for Sunday’s Food City 500 as the track’s most recent Cup Series winner.
All-Pro Reels was trackside for the fireworks and the wreckage under the lights at “The Last Great Colosseum.”
The Craftsman Truck Series returns to action May 1 at Texas Motor Speedway.