World of Outlaws cranks at Volusia. NASCAR star Christopher Bell aboard in Barberville
The 54th annual DIRTcar Nationals roll along at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, and the newly unleashed Christopher Bell takes to the dirt Wednesday night when the World of Outlaws begins a four-night run on the half-mile track.
As the World of Outlaws opens its 48th season, Bell continues his first season back on dirt since 2022, when his NASCAR Cup Series team — Joe Gibbs Racing — contractually prohibited their drivers from such outside work.
Bell first returned to dirt-tracking last month in his native Oklahoma, at the Tulsa Shootout and the Chili Bowl Nationals. He's scheduled to run in WoO's season opener Wednesday night, and perhaps again Thursday night.
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Bell will drive the No. 69 entry owned by Sprint Car Hall of Famer Don Kreitz. Bell's last laps in Barberville came in 2019, when he posted three straight top-five finishes, including a runner-up.
The $12,000 winner's share of the purse is goosed to $20,000 for Saturday night's final WoO race at the banked oval dubbed 'The World's Fastest Half Mile.'
Bell will have plenty of competition, including defending WoO Sprint Car champ Danny Gravel. He has five WoO wins at Volusia, and in his last 30 starts, he's recorded 20 top-five finishes. Last year, he won the four-night points battle and collected the coveted Big Gator trophy that goes along with it.
Sprint Car legend Donny Schatz also returns. The 10-time series champ has 24 Volusia wins, 15 of those in the World of Outlaws. His Volusia win in last spring's Bike Week Jamboree was his 500th career Sprint Car victory.
More information: VolusiaSpeedwayPark.com, and WorldOfOutlaws.com.
Saturday's non-wing outlaw micro sprint car feature race in the Tulsa Shootout saw Christopher Bell beat Kyle Larson by a tenth of a sec. Joe Gibbs Racing just approved dirt racing for its drivers this year and Bell made the most of his return. #ChristopherBell #TulsaShootout pic.twitter.com/Qiuy220x3q
— Dan Snyder Motorsports (@DanMotorsports) January 6, 2025
New Smyrna Speedway adds to the local noise Friday, opening night of its annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.
The nine straight nights of racing will feature 13 different divisions of cars, including NASCAR's Whelen Modified Tour and the ASA Stars National Tour, both of which begin their 2025 season on the high-banked, half-mile track in Samsula.
More info: NewSmyrnaSpeedway.org.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR | Christopher Bell back to dirt this week in World of Outlaws
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