Toyota Racing
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Driver’s Championship Stats & Toyota Quotes
November 17, 2017
Christopher Bell Fast Facts and Toyota Executive Quotes
- Tundra driver Christopher Bell won the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) championship with a second-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday night.
- Bell earned his first-career NASCAR title in just his second full-time season competing in the series in a Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
- The 22-year-old recorded five wins, 15 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s over 23 races this season to claim the 2017 driver’s championship.
- Bell also won his first NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Kansas Speedway last month in just his fifth series start, and will compete full-time in the series next season in a Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing.
- In addition to Bell’s 2017 championship, Erik Jones won the 2015 title for Toyota and fellow Tundra racer Matt Crafton became the first driver in series history to win back-to-back championships in 2013 and 2014. Todd Bodine also claimed a pair of driver’s titles in 2006 and 2010 and Johnny Benson was the NCWTS champion in 2008 for Toyota.
- Tundra drivers won 12 events, earned 13 pole positions and led 2,041 laps during the 2017 season, and Toyota secured its 10th NCWTS manufacturer’s championship (2006-2010, 2013-2017) in 14 seasons competing in the NCWTS. Toyota has earned a total of 170 victories since joining the NCWTS in 2004.
TOYOTA QUOTES
David Wilson, president of TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development), on Bell’s title:
“Christopher (Bell) obviously has incredible talent, but he had a steep learning curve when he got to the Truck Series. It has been fun watching him learn, grow and develop over two seasons into a NASCAR champion. I think some of NASCAR’s best racing is in the Truck Series and to be a champion in that series at 22 years old really speaks to the potential Christopher has demonstrated. We can’t wait for Christopher’s next chapter. We’re so lucky at Toyota and TRD to have great team partners and drivers that help us succeed, so I just have to say congratulations and thanks to Christopher and Kyle and Samantha Busch, as well as their whole Kyle Busch Motorsports organization for helping Toyota win races and championships.”
Keith Dahl, motorsports general manager for Toyota Motor North America (TMNA), on Bell’s championship:
“Congratulations to Christopher Bell, as well as Kyle and Samantha Busch and everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports, on winning the Truck Series driver’s championship. Christopher is a talented up-and-coming racer who has proven he can win races and championships on multiple platforms, all behind the wheel of a Toyota. We are so proud of the race team Kyle and Samantha have built and extremely fortunate for their dedication to Toyota and the Truck Series.”
