Townsend Bell
| Townsend Bell | |
|---|---|
Townsend Bell at the 2015 Indianapolis 500
|
|
| Nationality |
 American |
| Born |
April 19, 1975 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Verizon IndyCar Series career | |
| Debut season | 2004 |
| Current team | Andretti Autosport |
| Car no. | 29 |
| Starts | 22 |
| 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 competing in the Verizon IndyCar Series and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, and also a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar and Global Rallycross coverage.
He spent time in karting, Skip Barber, Formula Dodge and the Barber Dodge Pro Series before graduating to Indy Lights in 2000. He won the Indy Lights championship in 2001 and earned 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. He raced a partial season and scored a best finish of fourth at Portland.
His efforts shifted to Europe and in 2003 he was team mate to series champion Björn Wirdheim in International F3000 competition. Bell was the first American to score a F3000 podium with a 3rd place at the Hungaroring and he finished 9th overall in a field covered with future Formula One talent - Giorgio Pantano, Patrick Friesacher, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nicolas Kiesa among them.
His performance in F3000 led to Formula One tests with the Jaguar and BAR Honda F1 teams.
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, and posted a best finish of fifth. 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 No. 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.
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