Bell lands Indy 500 ride

Townsend Bell

Townsend Bell, who finished fourth in last year’s Indianapolis 500, has landed a ride for this year’s event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Bell will drive the No. 99 car fielded by Sam Schmidt Motorsports through a co-entry with Ganassi Racing. Chip Ganassi’s team fields the cars of the past two Izod IndyCar Series champions, Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon. Dixon won the 500 in a Ganassi car in 2008.

Bell drove for KV Racing Technology last year, posting the team’s best finish in the race. He finished 10th for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 2008.

As it relates to the IndyCar Series, Sam Schmidt’s team has been in Indy-only competitor in recent years. The Indianapolis-based team has won 30 Firestone Indy Lights races and three series championships. Indy Star