Christopher Bell continued his qualifying dominance by clinching his third straight NASCAR Cup Series pole at Kansas Speedway on Saturday. Bell clocked a blistering lap speed of 179.336 mph in the pole shootout, securing the top spot for Sunday’s race. This prime starting position gives him a strong chance to advance in the playoffs.
Bell, representing Joe Gibbs Racing, will be joined on the front row by teammate Ty Gibbs, who was eliminated from the playoffs last week. Bell expressed confidence in his car, saying, “We showed up with probably the best Kansas car we’ve ever had.”
While Bell has consistently performed well in qualifying at Kansas, he has yet to turn those strong starts into a win. “It’s always been a great track for us to qualify at,” Bell remarked. “But today felt different. The car was excellent in practice, I could drive it well, and we managed to replicate that performance in qualifying.”
Sunday’s race lineup looks competitive, with Tyler Reddick starting third. Reddick, last year’s Kansas playoff race winner, had a challenging practice session but bounced back in qualifying. “Practice was a bit of a struggle for us,” Reddick acknowledged, “but I’ll definitely take where we ended up.”
Kyle Busch, the only non-playoff driver to make it to the second round of qualifying, will start fourth, next to Reddick. William Byron secured fifth, while Denny Hamlin, a four-time Kansas winner, will begin in sixth.
Rounding out the top 10 are playoff drivers Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Briscoe. Briscoe has more than just racing on his mind, as he and his wife Marissa are awaiting the arrival of twins any day now.
Notably, Kyle Larson, who dominated last week’s race at Bristol, didn’t make it to the second round of qualifying and will start in 11th, next to fellow playoff driver Alex Bowman. Chase Elliott, meanwhile, faces a steep challenge after experiencing engine trouble during practice. Despite qualifying, his team will replace the engine, forcing him to start from the back on Sunday.
With the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in full swing, Bell’s strong starting position gives him an excellent shot to capture a win at Kansas — a track where he’s yet to take the checkered flag despite his qualifying brilliance.