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Christopher Bell, forced to start from the rear of the field in Friday night’s Xfinity Series race at Kentucky Speedway, recovered for his first win on the 1.5-mile track and his second of 2018.

A spin in qualifying forced the Joe Gibb Racing rookie’s poor starting position.

“This is really special,” Bell said. “I keep making mistakes. I have to stop doing that to my team. They build really fast race cars and I made another mistake there in qualifying and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get back. But this Camry was good enough that I was able to get back around these guys.”

Daniel Hemric, who passed Kyle Busch on Lap 143 and led eight laps, settled for second.

“I can’t make excuses,” Hemric said. “I should have gotten it done.”

Kyle Busch led a race-high 111 laps before finishing third. Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick, John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Truex, Paul Menard and Austin Cindric rounded out the top 10.

“To be able to come from the back here at Kentucky, it just really shows how good of car we have,” Bell said.

Sadler, who finished 12th, leads the NXS standings on a tie-breaker over Hemric.

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NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Alsco 300

Kentucky Speedway

Sparta, Kentucky

Friday, July 13, 2018

1. (12) Christopher Bell #, Toyota, 200.
2. (5) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 200.
3. (3) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 200.
4. (2) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
5. (1) Cole Custer, Ford, 200.
6. (8) Tyler Reddick #, Chevrolet, 200.
7. (6) John Hunter Nemechek, Chevrolet, 200.
8. (9) Ryan Reed, Ford, 200.
9. (14) Paul Menard(i), Ford, 200.
10. (4) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 200.
11. (7) Matt Tifft, Chevrolet, 200.
12. (10) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200.
13. (13) Ryan Truex, Chevrolet, 200.
14. (16) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200.
15. (17) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 200.
16. (19) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 200.
17. (21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 200.
18. (20) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 200.
19. (24) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 198.
20. (15) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, 198.
21. (26) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 196.
22. (33) Ray Black II, Chevrolet, 196.
23. (30) David Starr, Chevrolet, 195.
24. (36) Spencer Boyd #, Chevrolet, 195.
25. (37) Blake Jones, Chevrolet, 194.
26. (27) Brandon Hightower, Toyota, 194.
27. (18) Ty Majeski, Ford, 193.
28. (34) Josh Bilicki #, Toyota, 193.
29. (38) Vinnie Miller #, Chevrolet, 192.
30. (39) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, 190.
31. (35) Chad Finchum #, Toyota, Transmission, 172.
32. (25) Alex Labbe #, Chevrolet, 168.
33. (22) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Accident, 161.
34. (23) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Suspension, 119.
35. (31) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, Carburetor, 107.
36. (11) Brandon Jones, Toyota, Accident, 104.
37. (29) Timmy Hill, Dodge, Fuel Pump, 55.
38. (32) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Vibration, 25.
39. (40) Josh Reaume(i), Chevrolet, Overheating, 9.
40. (28) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Electrical, 6.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  131.884 mph.

Time of Race:  02 Hrs, 16 Mins, 29 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.848 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  7 for 32 laps.

Lead Changes:  8 among 7 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   C. Custer 1-14; K. Busch(i) 15-79; J. Nemechek 80-93; K. Busch(i) 94-134; M. Annett 135-138; K. Busch(i) 139-143; D. Hemric 144-151; J. Allgaier 152-183; C. Bell # 184-200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Busch(i) 3 times for 111 laps; J. Allgaier 1 time for 32 laps; C. Bell # 1 time for 17 laps; J. Nemechek 1 time for 14 laps; C. Custer 1 time for 14 laps; D. Hemric 1 time for 8 laps; M. Annett 1 time for 4 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 18,00,42,2,12,19,9,7,21,1

Stage #2 Top Ten: 42,18,00,12,19,7,20,9,22,21

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