SCC: Watkins Glen: Matt Bell qualifying report

Once Again, Bell Best in Class with 4th at Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen, NY (4 June 2010) - For the second straight race weekend, Matt Bell was best in class in qualifying as he chased a second consecutive pole position at Watkins Glen International in qualifying for Saturday's Continental Tire 150.

While last week it was the Mustangs who blocked out the top three in qualifying, Friday saw a brigade of Bimmers lock down 1-2-3 during the 15-minute Grand Sports (GS) class qualifying on the 3.4-mile "grand prix" circuit in upstate New York.

Bell, who scored the track with a new track record in qualifying last year, will start the 2.5-hour race from fourth on the nearly 70-car grid after posting a fast lap time of 2:04.667-seconds, just over half a second from the pole time of the day. Bell will share the No. 6 Sunoco Fuels Camaro with Jeff Bucknum for Stevenson Motorsports.

"The Stevenson guys have done a great job and we keep chipping away at learning what makes this car really click," said Bell. "We made some changes so far this weekend that have improved the car, but we've also learned some things that sent us backwards so we are not where we want to be just yet. But the race of course is a whole different game. We are going to have to see how the weather plays out in the morning. The conditions will different for the race than from right now, but it will still be a matter of conserving tires as much as we can. It is great to be racing with such a big field here at the Glen, but there seem to be a lot of guys out there who don't have much experience or situational awareness, so hopefully thats not an issue tomorrow."

-source: sgm