BECHTELSVILLE, Pa. — Mother Nature offered a reprieve to race fans Tuesday night at Grandview Speedway, providing just enough clear weather for Christopher Bell to claim the Pennsylvania Speedweek feature that headlined the NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill event.
The battles were plentiful all night but the biggest story was how the Grandview Speedway track crew fought back after a thunder stormed drenched the speedway surface. The outstanding work by the track crew had the track ready to race after a one hour and 15-minute delay.
Bell used up every inch of the race track on his way to a $10,000 payday aboard Kevin Swindell’s familiar No. 39 sprint car. It was Bell’s first Thunder on the Hill triumph.
“I had a hard time figuring out where the car worked best, I just kept moving around,” Bell explained. “I almost crashed a couple of times.”
Polesitter Lucas Wolfe and Bell raced down to the drop of the green, but action slowed quickly for a six-car tangle that sidelined Pennsylvania Speedweek point leader Freddie Rahmer.
Bell didn’t bat an eye on the restart racing around Wolfe and disappearing from the competition — a man on a mission, Bell encountered lapped traffic on the eighth circuit, dodging slower cars with his sight set on the winner’s purse.
James McFadden, aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9 machine, slid passed Wolfe on the 12th lap and it didn’t take long for him to rope in Bell and challenge for the lead. The red flag flew just prior to the halfway when Jessie Attard got upside down in turn three.
Bell had his hands full on the restart with McFadden and Lance Dewease on his rear bumper.
“I struggled just past halfway, I used every inch of the race track and tried to block those guys behind me,” Bell explained.
McFadden made one last-ditch effort for the victory, but ultimately settled for second. Lance Dewease, Lucas Wolfe and Aaron Reutzel rounded out the top five.
Bell’s sweep included the Quick Time with a lap of 11.617 seconds.
Jeff Strunk won the modified feature.
The finish:
Feature (35 Laps) – 1. Christopher Bell 2. James McFadden 3. Lance Dewease 4. Lucas Wolfe 5. Aaron Reutzel 6. Danny Dietrich 7. Kyle Larson 8. Rico Abreu 9. Anthony Macri 10. Cory Eliason 11. JJ Grasso 12. Kyle Reinhardt 13. Alan Krimes 14. Jared Esh 15. Chase Dietz 16. Kyle Moody 17. Tyler Reeser 18. Mark Smith 19. Jessie Attard 20. TJ Stutts 21. Dale Blaney 22. Freddie Rahmer 23. Dylan Cisney 24. Brandon Rahmer