Christopher Bell & Max McLaughlin Give WoO eDirt Racing Shootout Fans A Finish To Remember

Story By: WORLD OF OUTLAWS – VIRTUAL CONCORD, NC – As the World of Outlaws return to racing, the third round in the trilogy of “World of Outlaws: eDirt Racing Shootout” events on CBS Sports Network Tuesday night gave fans an explosive battle to the finish worth their while.

The iRacing invitational event at The Dirt Track at Charlotte saw NASCAR star Christopher Bell and Super DIRTcar Series standout Max McLaughlin wage a war of slide jobs for the final three laps, trading the lead every corner. At the end, Bell claimed his fourth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car iRacing win and second in a row.

The intense action in the Sprint Car race was non-stop throughout the 35-lap Feature. McLaughlin started on the pole in the NOS Energy Drink #17 and jumped to the early lead. However, Bell — who already had one iRacing Invitational win at The Dirt Track — and Williams Grove Speedway iRacing Invitational winner Robbie Kendall pressured him early.

After a restart eight laps into the race, Bell dove underneath McLaughlin and Kendall in Turn 3 and stole the lead from them exiting Turn 4. Kendall kept Bell in sight but hit the wall and handed the runner-up position to McLaughlin.

The next 20 laps became a Bell and McLaughlin show. Both rode the cushion against the wall the entire way around the virtual 4/10-mile track. McLaughlin tried a slide job on Bell but couldn’t complete it, allowing the black #21 to pull away. He then hit the wall with his right rear tire, seeming to hand the race to Bell.

However, a caution with 10 laps to go set up the most exciting final showdown in all of the World of Outlaws iRacing events this year. Bell got a good jump on the restart, pulling away from McLaughlin by a few car lengths. McLaughlin didn’t waste any time to catch back up to him, though. Within a lap, his NOS Energy Drink car was back on Bell’s bumper. He followed him for a couple of laps, waiting to make his move.

During the final three laps of the race, Bell and McLaughlin traded slide jobs and the lead every corner. McLaughlin would lead down the backstretch, while Bell always took the lead back down the front stretch.

On the final lap, Bell’s car wiggled off Turn 4 and he ran into the side of McLaughlin down the front stretch. McLaughlin held the lead to Turn 3 before Bell threw a final slide job at him and reclaimed the lead for the final time. McLaughlin made a charge back underneath him to the finish line but came up short by 0.035 seconds.

“I hope the fans enjoyed that one, because that was a hell of a race from where I was sitting,” Bell said. “Max was outstanding there. It was pretty tough. The cushion got dirty and marbled up and slick and it was hard to run.”

Bell totaled $4,000 in winnings between his four World of Outlaws iRacing Invitational wins. And while McLaughlin came up short of getting a win of his own, he still enjoyed him time in the virtual Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing car.

“It is what it is,” McLaughlin said. “If you’re going to lose to anyone it might as well be Christopher Bell. It was a great race. I had a ton of fun. I can’t thank you guys (World of Outlaws and CBS Sports) for putting this on, making the most of this quarantine. This was great. I wish we had more green flag laps to go at it a little more, but I guess you can’t ask for a better race for the fans.”

Another former iRacing Invitational winner Kevin Swindell was third, with NASCAR Xfinity star Chase Briscoe finishing fourth, edging NASCAR Cup star William Byron by one spot while NHRA champion Ron Capps advanced five positions to finish 11th. David Gravel, who won the World of Outlaws Return to Racing on Friday night at Knoxville Raceway, powered the DIRTVision Sim Rig in the studio for the broadcast, finishing 17th as Logan Schuchart, who won the first of the CBS Sports Network iRacing events, was 8th.

After last Friday’s event at Knoxville Raceway, the World of Outlaws Return to Racing continues this Friday and Saturday with the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series invades Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 just south of St. Louis, with both nights broadcast on DIRTVision. The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars roll to I-55 the following weekend, May 22-23.

World of Outlaws: eDirt Racing Shootout; May 12, 2020; Virtual The Dirt Track at Charlotte

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 laps) — 1. 21-Christopher Bell [4] [$1,000]; 2. 17-Max McLaughlin [1]; 3. 39-Kevin Swindell [6]; 4. 5-Chase Briscoe [8]; 5. 25-William Byron [7]; 6. 17-Mike McKinney [12]; 7. 7-Tyler Courtney [18]; 8. 1-Logan Schuchart [10]; 9. 35-Mike Mahaney [13]; 10. 2-Wayne Johnson [14]; 11. 28-Ron Capps [16]; 12. 55-Robbie Kendall [2]; 13. 170-Bill Balog [5]; 14. 4-Justin Grant [15]; 15. 2-Carson Macedo [20]; 16. 5-Brent Marks [3]; 17. 41-David Gravel [11]; 18. 1-Jacob Allen [17]; 19. 21-Brian Brown [9]; 20. 18-Ian Madsen [19]. Lap leaders: Max McLaughlin 1; 33; Robbie Kendall 2-9; Christopher Bell 11-32, 34-35. KSE Hard Charger: Tyler Courtney +11.