Christopher Bell gears up for a ‘huge event’ between the Sonoma and Dover NASCAR races

Christopher Bell has locked himself down to two nights of sprint car racing in the 42nd Annual Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway. Scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, July 16-17, at Rossburg, Ohio, the prestigious event will see Bell juggling between NASCAR's coast-to-coast races at Sonoma Raceway and Dover Motor Speedway.

Bell will pilot the No. 69k 410 winged sprint car on Wednesday night's Double Down Duels and Thursday night's Joker's Jackpot. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has his roots in sprint cars, and as such, looks to compete in what's known as the crown jewel event of the division.

Nonetheless, his Cup Series schedule would keep him from competing in the marquee event on Saturday, July 19. Notably, the King's Royal has $200,000 prize money up for grabs, while Bell eyes a potential payday with the $100,000 offered by Joker's Jackpot.

“NASCAR has the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. Sprint car racing has the Kings Royal and the Knoxville Nationals. Those are always the big events. The Kings Royal is a huge event and it’s always an honor to be a part of it, even if it’s only for the first two nights,” he said via Jayski.com

Christopher Bell won his first race at Eldora during a Truck Series race in 2015. His first sprint car win at the high-banked clay oval came in May 2016, when he ran the NRA Sprint Invaders of the Annual Johnny Appleseed Classic.

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Christopher Bell opens up about sprint car racing

Christopher Bell reflected on racing across different disciplines, noting how it translates to his NASCAR career and helps him compete with an 'open mind'. The six-time World of Outlaws feature winner also revealed how there's no room to 'fake' your way through in sprint car racing.

“Sprint car racing is just so real and raw and true. You can’t fake it. You’ve got to qualify well and you’ve got to race well. There are no pit stops. It’s just the driver and the car once it’s on the track. You still have a team. You have a crew chief and mechanics who work on the car, but it’s all really in your hands, and you can’t fake your way around a sprint car, that’s for sure,” he said (via aforementioned source)

On the Cup Series front, Christopher Bell has slipped a spot to place sixth in the driver's standings, largely due to his dismal result of 24th in Chicago. He came close to a win previously at Mexico City but fell victim to Shane Van Gisbergen's road course dominance.

That said, he's set for a rematch this weekend at yet another road course, Sonoma Raceway. Meanwhile, the JGR driver sits third in the playoff standings, backed by a solid three-win tally this season.