(Moorsville, NC, January 26, 2011) Bell struggled last year during her second season with NASCAR’s Drive For Diversity program, the series’ on-track diversity initiative which provides female and minority drivers the chance to compete in NASCAR. So Bell, 20, of Carson City, moved from the K&N Series back to racing late model cars at tracks around the east coast in 2010.
Bell, who lives in Mooresville, N.C., while she revs up her racing career, was again chosen to participate in the Drive for Diversity program this year, one of 10 drivers selected. This will be her third year in the program. “I just needed to learn a little more. There were some things we needed to do,” Bell said of the move last year. “We’re making strides to be competitive. You can’t walk before you crawl.”
Bell said the move gave her more time on the race track, which helped her confidence. In the K&N Series there were often long gaps between races while in the late-model series, she can race every other weekend, 17 times in all, and often in more than one race per weekend.
Marcus Jadotte, managing director of public affairs for NASCAR, said Bell has the talent and effort it takes to continue moving up the ranks. “Given her young age and the talent she has shown on the race track handling the car, she is one driver we want to have back in the organization,” he said. “She has the potential to develop into a driver who can compete at the national level.”
Although Bell will mainly race late model cars this year, she could be called up to the K&N Series throughout the spring and summer and hopes to be there full time next year. Bell said many of the problems last year were due to crashes or mechanical failures, which were out of her control. But it is her name in the results, so she takes responsibility.
She is on the Revolution Racing team, headquartered in Mooresville, N.C., and owned by Max Siegel and John Story. “Everybody you meet knows racing. It’s a cool environment here, everybody eats, breathes and sleeps racing. “It’s a big step. When you’re running 170 mph at Louden (a racetrack in New Hampshire), that’s quick. There’s a lot of things you need to learn and you need to be very prepared for it,” she said.
She said the weather in North Carolina is much different than Nevada’s usually mild climate. Humidity is more of a factor in North Carolina. “In a race car, it’s 145 degrees, so that’s pretty hot,” she said. She works out with a trainer three to five times a week and runs three miles a day. Jadotte has seen the difference. “She went through a pretty significant physical metamorphosis,” he said. “She increased her stamina and her strength. Being in good physical condition allows drivers to stay focused longer and to withstand the heat that’s involved in handling a race car.”
Bell’s racing season starts March 12 and continues through October. “She’s certainly on the right path to do well in this sport,” Jadotte said. “There’s no guarantees, but if she continues to work hard I expect big things from her.”
