The richest POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Sprint race of the year was held at Southern Illinois Raceway in Marion over the weekend and saw 113 drivers show up for a chance at the $10,000 payday.  The drivers were thinned down to 24 of the best micro sprint drivers in the country for the A-Main which payed $500 just to start.  The 40 lap feature saw Trent Beckinger of Evansville, Indiana jump out to an early lead from his front row starting spot and lead the first 30 laps.  Christopher Bell was charging hard from his sixth place starting spot as he was in third by the end of the first lap and moved around Ryan Guyett for second on lap 15.

Bell set his sights on Beckinger and  got to him on lap 28 where the two drivers would swap the spot back and forth several times over the next three laps with Bell finally taking the spot for good on lap 31.  From there in was all Bell’s race as he picked up the win by almost 10 car lengths.  The 16-year-old driver from Norman, OK earned the $10,000 victory in the first ever 66 Mike Phillips Memorial race.

“It’s by far the biggest win I’ve had in my life, and will be for a while.  I’m still in shock. It’s unbelievable,” is all Bell had to say in victory lane as the young driver was very excited about his big win.  Bell went on to say, “It’s amazing.  We didn’t win a heat or a qualifier, had to start in the back on Friday and started sixth in the feature (Saturday).  I made some early adjustments that paid off.  I had to free the car up, and when the track got slick I was able to get out to the cushion on the outside.”

For more information on the POWRi Midgets and Micro Sprints fans can visit www.POWRi.com.