Christopher Bell dedicates his 2023 Bristol Dirt race victory to late racer Justin Owen

Christopher Bell wrapped up the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway with his first victory of the year after a great performance in the Final Stage. Reddick pursued Bell in the closing laps after Bell had led for 100 laps. Reddick was denied the last opportunity to overtake Bell for the victory due to a caution that occurred on the penultimate lap.

It was a very special and emotional victory for Christopher Bell as he dedicated his win to fellow dirt racer Justin Owen, who sadly passed away in a crash on Saturday.

The drivers of Sunday's Food City Dirt Race in Bristol had Justin Owen on their minds even though he didn't get the opportunity to race in NASCAR. After winning the race, Christopher Bell paid tribute to Owen on Twitter.

Following a collision in qualifying for the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Indiana on Saturday, Owen, 26, died. Owen was seen going up high into turn 3 and losing control before smashing into the wall in the incidental video. His car then suddenly took up into the air, flipping around multiple times before landing in the center of the track.

At Lawrenceburg Speedway, Owen came into this weekend's competition as the current track champion after winning two features and the 2022 championship. After competing in the sprint car group for many years at the 3/8-mile circuit, the triumph was the 10-year sprint car veteran's first championship there.

According to a USAC press release, among Owen's biggest on-track accomplishments was winning the Dick Gaines Memorial at the end of last season, when he won the Lawrenceburg title.

He achieved three victories in 2019: at the Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvania, the Paragon Speedway in Indiana, and the Night of Champions competition in Lawrenceburg. Additionally, he gained a victory in 2016 at Lernerville with BOSS. In 2019 and 2021, Owen has already had two feature starts with USAC, both at Lawrenceburg.

After USAC confirmed Owen's passing on Saturday, condolences flooded social media. May he rest in peace.

---

Tyler Reddick comments after being beaten by Christopher Bell

Christopher Bell was on his way to victory lane at Bristol Motor Speedway when Tyler Reddick interrupted a post-race interview to stop him. Reddick wanted to congratulate Bell on his triumph and also express regret for what may have happened had Sunday's race continued.

Reddick came in second place to Bell in the Food City Dirt Race, but he was denied the victory when the yellow flag flashed on the last lap. Each of the two Toyota drivers dominated the race all night long, with Bell taking the lead for the last 100 laps.

Reddick won the second stage, which gave him 13 points overall. Out of the 250 laps in the race, he took the lead on 69 of them.