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Christopher Bell won the Camping World Truck Series and John Wes Townley won a more-serious -than-usual driver fight over Spencer Gallagher at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis on Saturday night.

For Bell, driver of the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra, the victory was the second of his career. It came by 0.275 second over runner-up Ben Rhodes.

For Townley, angered by contact between his car and that of Gallagher, the fight resulted him being taken down but then issuing him several punches to Gallagher’s head.

The two wrecked each other with seven laps to go. After getting out of their trucks after the race, they brawled on the track surface.

Bell led the field twice for 38 laps (of 160). The victory was the seventh in a row for Toyota in the NCWTS with triumphs by William Byron (three wins), Matt Crafton (two), Kyle Busch (one) and Bell (one) during the streak, including five wins by Kyle Busch Motorsports.

“This is just a dream come true,” Bell said. “Eldora (Speedway in Ohio, site of his first win) came fairly quick in my NASCAR deal, but the next one didn’t come so quick, but this one – it was a long time coming. Man, these guys work so hard week in and week out and they give me awesome race trucks and it’s just nice to be able to give these guys what they deserve. I mean, I just can’t thank everyone enough over there on this No. 4 team. It’s a dream to be here and just really thankful that.”

Bell secured the victory will a strong restart with two laps to go.

“He (Bell) had a really loose truck and that’s what you needed at the end of the race,” Rhodes said. “It just got tighter and tighter and tighter as the runs went on. I was way too tight, but I was making some good ground on the outside. He came up on us a little bit, which is fine – it’s racing for the win at the end and he did an awesome job all night. He raced everybody clean and with respect and I think that’s – we could use a little more of that in our series after this crazy driving, but I had a blast tonight. The guys on our Alpha Energy Solutions Toyota Tundra worked their butts off all week and I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done. A career-best finish of second is great, but after tasting it four times now and haven’t been able to go home and get it – that’s been tough, but hopefully here soon. We’re just going to keep pushing forward.”

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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race – Drivin For Linemen 200 Brought To You By Altec

Gateway Motorsports Park

Madison, Illinois

Saturday, June 25, 2016

1. (9) Christopher Bell #, Toyota, 160.
2. (1) Ben Rhodes #, Toyota, 160.
3. (13) Daniel Hemric, Ford, 160.
4. (2) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 160.
5. (17) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, 160.
6. (4) John H. Nemechek, Chevrolet, 160.
7. (5) German Quiroga, Toyota, 160.
8. (16) Kaz Grala, Chevrolet, 160.
9. (12) Ben Kennedy, Chevrolet, 160.
10. (21) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 160.
11. (24) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 160.
12. (25) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 160.
13. (19) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 160.
14. (23) Rico Abreu #, Toyota, 160.
15. (8) Cole Custer #, Chevrolet, 160.
16. (20) Shane Lee, Chevrolet, 160.
17. (3) William Byron #, Toyota, 160.
18. (27) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 160.
19. (28) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 160.
20. (30) Enrique Contreras, Chevrolet, 160.
21. (15) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 156.
22. (11) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, Accident, 153.
23. (18) John Wes Townley, Chevrolet, Accident, 150.
24. (10) Cameron Hayley, Toyota, 150.
25. (7) Tyler Reddick, Ford, Accident, 149.
26. (6) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 149.
27. (14) Matt Crafton, Toyota, Accident, 148.
28. (26) Austin Wayne Self #, Toyota, Accident, 118.
29. (29) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, Accident, 113.
30. (22) Jake Griffin, Chevrolet, Engine, 14.
31. (32) Caleb Roark, Chevrolet, Vibration, 7.
32. (31) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, Engine, 0.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  89.021 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 14 Mins, 48 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.275 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  9 for 44 laps.

Lead Changes:  10 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   B. Rhodes # 0; J. Sauter 1-26; T. Reddick 27-67; J. Anderson 68; W. Byron # 69-115; J. Sauter 116-118; C. Bell # 119-148; B. Rhodes # 149-152; C. Bell # 153-160.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  W. Byron # 1 time for 47 laps; T. Reddick 1 time for 41 laps; C. Bell # 2 times for 38 laps; J. Sauter 2 times for 29 laps; B. Rhodes # 2 times for 4 laps; J. Anderson 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 10 in Points: W. Byron # – 226; M. Crafton – 225; T. Peters – 221; D. Hemric – 216; J. Sauter – 204; J. Nemechek – 192; B. Kennedy – 192; T. Reddick – 191; C. Bell # – 185; B. Rhodes # – 181.

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