Townsend Bell
| Townsend Bell | |
|---|---|
 Townsend Bell at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2006. | |
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
April 19, 1975 San Francisco, California |
| 2014 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series | |
| Debut season | 2004 |
| Current team | Panther Racing |
| Car no. | 60 |
| Former teams |
Sam Schmidt Motorsports Panther Racing Vision Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing KV Racing Technology |
| Starts | 20 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Best finish | 21st in 2004 |
| Previous series | |
| 2003 2001-2002 2000-2001 1999 |
Formula 3000 CART World Series Indy Lights Barber Dodge Pro Series |
| Championship titles | |
| 2001 | Indy Lights |
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975 in San Francisco) is a motor racing driver. He is married to actress Heather Campbell.
He won the last Indy Lights championship in 2001 and was given two starts in a Champ Car in a joint effort between Patrick Racing and Dale Coyne Racing as a test for a full-time seat in 2002. He earned Roberto Moreno's seat at Patrick that year. His results were mixed; scoring a best finish of 4th but was dropped midseason for Oriol Servia after being placed on probation for avoidable contact with Bruno Junqueira.
International Formula 3000 Career
His efforts shifted to Europe and in 2003 he was team mate to series champion Björn Wirdheim in International F3000 competition. Bell's moment of glory came with a podium at the Hungaroring and he finished 9th overall in a field covered with future Formula One talent, Wirdheim, Giorgio Pantano, Patrick Friesacher, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nicolas Kiesa among them.
Return to IndyCar
Despite earning a test with British American Racing at year's end, Bell returned to America where he replaced Mark Taylor for Panther Racing in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series midway through 2004. He started one race as an injury replacement for Tomáš Enge in the same car in 2005. He made his first Indianapolis 500 appearance for Vision Racing in 2006, qualifying 15th and finishing 22nd. He returned to the IndyCar Series in 2008 driving the #23 car in events where Milka Duno was not scheduled to race. His best result in 2008 was an eighth place finish at Richmond International Raceway in June. He also was entered in a third team car in the Indy 500, where he qualified twelfth and finished tenth.
In 2009, Bell was entered in the Indy 500 by KV Racing Technology. Despite qualifying 24th, by virtue of a limited-month schedule, he raced his way into the top 5. Passing Team Penske's Will Power on the last restart, Bell impressed with a 4th place finish.
He has also substituted for David Hobbs on Speed TV's Formula One broadcast team when Hobbs was out due to the death of a family member.
He returned to the Indianapolis 500 in 2011, racing for Sam Schmidt Motorsports, qualified 4th fastest, and started the 95th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing on the inside of the second row.
Bell finished 9th in the 2012 Indianapolis 500 with Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
Bell is also driving a Lotus Evora GTE for Alex Job Racing in the American Le Mans Series with Bill Sweedler and he is a color commentator for NBC Sports with Wally Dallenbach, Jr. and Leigh Diffey.
He currently runs in the Stadium Super Trucks,[1] while also serving as an analyst for NBC Sports' broadcast of the series.[2]
Racing record
American open–wheel racing results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
Indy Lights
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Dorricott Racing |  LBH 17 |
MIL 6 |
DET 7 |
POR 2 |
MIS 4 |
CHI 2 |
MDO 1 |
 VAN 4 |
LS 18 |
STL 1 |
HOU 2 |
FON 2 |
2nd | 146 |
| 2001 | Dorricott Racing |  MTY 2 |
LBH 1 |
TXS 8 |
MIL 1 |
POR 6 |
KAN 5 |
TOR 1 |
MDO 1 |
STL 9 |
ATL 2 |
LS 1 |
FON 1 |
1st | 192 |
CART
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Patrick Racing | MTY |
LBH |
TXS |
NZR |
 MOT |
MIL |
DET |
POR |
CLE |
TOR |
MIS |
CHI |
MDO |
ROA |
VAN |
 LAU 13 |
 ROC 12 |
HOU |
LS |
 SRF |
FON |
30th | 1 |
| 2002 | Patrick Racing | MTY 19 |
LBH 15 |
MOT 14 |
MIL 13 |
LS 7 |
POR 4 |
CHI 12 |
TOR DSQ |
CLE 18 |
VAN |
MDO |
ROA |
MTL |
DEN |
ROC |
MIA |
SRF |
FON |
MXC |
20th | 19 |
IndyCar Series
- * Season still in progress
- 1 Run on same day.
- 2 Non-points race.
| Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums (Non-win) |
Top 10s (Non-podium) |
Indianapolis 500 Wins |
Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Indianapolis 500
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Dallara | Honda | 15 | 22 | Vision Racing |
| 2008 | Dallara | Honda | 12 | 10 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing |
| 2009 | Dallara | Honda | 24 | 4 | KV Racing Technology |
| 2010 | Dallara | Honda | 10 | 16 | Sam Schmidt Motorsports |
| 2011 | Dallara | Honda | 4 | 26 | Sam Schmidt Motorsports |
| 2012 | Dallara | Honda | 20 | 9 | Schmidt–Hamilton Motorsports |
| 2013 | Dallara | Chevrolet | 22 | 27 | Panther Racing |
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(key)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arden International | IMO 9 |
CAT 12 |
A1R 7 |
MON 6 |
NUR Ret |
MAG 12 |
SIL 7 |
HOC 5 |
HUN 3 |
MNZ Ret |
9th | 17 |
References
- ↑ "Justin Lofton Wins Round No. 7 of SST Competition on the Streets of Toronto". Stadium Super Trucks. July 14, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
- ↑ DiZinno, Tony (May 6, 2013). "Townsend Bell confirms he’s running the Indy 500 again this year". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Townsend Bell. |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Scott Dixon |
Indy Lights Champion 2001 |
Succeeded by A. J. Foyt IV (Infiniti Pro Series) |