NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Christopher Bell has been one of NASCAR’s rising young stars for the past few years. Over the past few weeks, Bell and the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 car have been so hot that he is close to joining some pretty select company.

Bell, a 23-year-old Oklahoma native and an Xfinity Series rookie, heads into tonight’s (Saturday night’s) race at Iowa Speedway seeking to become the first series regular with a three-race winning streak since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 1999. Kyle Busch did it four times between 2008 and 2016 but he was also running full-time in the Cup Series — something Bell might be doing sooner rather than later if he keeps winning like he has.

“It would definitely be something special,” Bell said of the chance to win three straight. “To be able to get two in a row at Kentucky and Loudon, which are race tracks that are extremely different, is something that I’m proud of for our team … and we’ve got a good shot at it. We’ve been really fast here at Iowa.”

In less than three years, Bell has grown from largely an unknown driver to one in serious pursuit of both a second straight NASCAR championship — he won a Trucks title last year driving for Busch — and a shot at a ride at the sport’s highest level.
Bell got something of a late start to NASCAR, at least compared to some of his fellow drivers who were in a stock car before they even graduated high school.

Bell ran a pair of K&N races and seven Trucks events in 2015, winning for the first time on the dirt at Eldora. Bell showed enough promise to land a full-time truck ride with Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2016, winning just once but finishing in the top 10 in 19 of 23 events. Last season was the first of consecutive breakout seasons for Bell. He won five times and finished in the top five 15 times, and he clinched the championship by finishing second at Homestead.

Bell moved up yet again in 2018, landing a 23-race Xfinity deal with JGR after running just eight times in the series — including a win at Kansas in 2017.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Paul DeJong had three hits and three RBIs, Yadier Molina also had three hits and drove in a run, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2 before a season-high crowd of 47,169 at Busch Stadium. DeJong’s RBI triple, just the sixth for the Cardinals this season, tied the game at 1 in the third and Jose Martinez followed with an RBI single to give St. Louis the lead.

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners have bolstered their bullpen by acquiring right-handed reliever Sam Tuivailala from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for minor-league pitcher Seth Elledge. Tuivailala is 3-3 with a 3.69 ERA in 31 appearances for St. Louis this season, his second full season in the big leagues. Tuivailala will join a bullpen that’s been worked extensively in numerous close ball games.

NEW YORK (AP) — The game between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees has been postponed because of rain. The game never started and was called a half-hour after it was supposed to begin. The game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader Saturday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired third baseman Mike Moustakas from the Kansas City Royals, making their second deal in as many days as the club makes a push for its first playoff appearance since 2011. The Brewers sent outfielder Brett Phillips and pitcher Jorge Lopez to the Royals, who are in last place in the AL Central.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Eric Bieniemy has taken over as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator after Matt Nagy left to become the head coach in Chicago. The former running back is the first coach whom Reid has elevated to that job who wasn’t a quarterback. But Bieniemy has proven an astute observer of the game during his time in Kansas City, giving Reid confidence he’s up to the task.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Christopher Bell has been one of NASCAR’s rising young stars for the past few years. He has been red hot late. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver and the No. 20 have won two straight races in the Xfinity Series. The 23-year-old Xfinity rookie from Oklahoma heads into Saturday night’s race at Iowa Speedway seeking to become the first series regular with a three-race winning streak since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 1999.