From his very first win in his very first race at the Northern Nevada Kart Club, TJ Bell knew he was destined to strap into the driver's seat and take the controls of a racing machine. With a strong racing background in the family, Bell attended his first race at 6 months old and became infected with the racing bug. Road racing to off-road racing; sports cars to stock cars, Bell owns a diverse range of accomplishments in motorsports.

Receiving his first go kart from his father when he was eight years old, TJ showed immediate success and quickly moved up the racing ladder, winning six consecutive championships in Nevada. Racing in the SCCA in 1997, when he was still under the age of 18, Bell created noise by finishing in the top three in seven of nine Formula 2000 events, and also became one of the first minors to receive a Dual Pro/National SCCA competition license. In 1999, he was named the National Spokesperson for A Special Wish Foundation, helping the wishes of children with life-threatening illness come true.

For the next five years, Bell continued to compete in sports cars, as well as the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship. One of Bell's favorite career highlights came in 2002, racing in all five major classic sports car endurance events, including competing as one of the drivers on the factory ASCARI team in the 24 Hours of Lemans; one of the most prestigious sports car events.

In 2003 he made his first starts in a stock car in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) and captured top rookie honors in two races. Looking for more seat time and experience behind the wheel of the much heavier and less agile stock car, Bell ran various ARCA Racing Series, NCWTS and NASCAR Nationwide Series events; claiming ARCA Rookie of the Year honors in 2004. He continued to race anything he could race, including numerous events in the NCWTS, where he scored his most successful year in the series in 2008. Competing in 17 events that season, he earned seven top-10 finishes, was given the Most Improved Driver Award and ranked #1 Closer for the entire season. Bell ran his first full season for Red Horse Racing in 2009, finishing 15th in driver point standings, Bell posted six top-10 finishes.