Christopher Bell Powers To Cup Series Pole At Talladega

Christopher Bell won the pole in qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Christopher Bell won the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway with a lap of 180.591 mph around the 2.66-mile oval on Saturday.

Bell’s lap was a mere .075-mph faster than Kyle Larson, putting the NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders out front in the fifth Playoff race, second of this round.

It’s the series-best fourth pole of the season for Bell, and his second at Talladega – matching his spring pole position. Bell has scored top five finishes in three of the four Playoff races, suffering a 34th-place finish last week at Texas.

At this stage in the Playoffs and sitting 11th in points (the top eight advance to the next round), Bell said earning the pole position is mostly a help in gaining invaluable stage points.

“You can go to the back to the front and the front to the back a handful of times before they pay points at lap 60,” Bell said. “I think winning the pole is a great testament to the team but really will have no effect on winning the race tomorrow.”

Bell’s JGR teammate and fellow championship contender Denny Hamlin will start third, alongside Aric Almirola, the 2018 winner of this race. Almirola’s teammate Chase Briscoe and Ross Chastain – both Playoff drivers – make up the third row. Chastain won at Talladega in April.

NASCAR Xfinity Series championship leader Noah Gragson, who is filling in for driver Alex Bowman in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, qualified an impressive seventh. Bowman is sitting out this event after suffering concussion-like symptoms last Sunday in the Texas race. William Byron, will start ninth, the last Playoff contender among the top 10 on the starting grid.

Defending race winner Bubba Wallace will start 27th on the 37-car grid.

Dawsonville, Georgia’s Chase Elliott will roll off from the 16th starting spot on Sunday.

NASCAR Cup Series
Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, AL
YellaWood 500 – October 1, 2022

Saturday’s Qualifying Results

Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 20 Christopher Bell (P) Sirius XM Toyota 53.026 180.591
2. 5 Kyle Larson (P) HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 53.048 180.516
3. 11 Denny Hamlin (P) FedEx Express Toyota 53.076 180.421
4. 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 53.166 180.115
5. 14 Chase Briscoe (P) Magical Vacation Planner Ford 53.268 179.770
6. 1 Ross Chastain (P) Jockey Chevrolet 53.320 179.595
7. 48 Noah Gragson(i) Ally Chevrolet 53.356 179.474
8. 8 Tyler Reddick REALTREE Chevrolet 53.388 179.366
9. 24 William Byron (P) RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 53.434 179.212
10. 23 Ty Gibbs(i) Monster Energy Toyota 0.000 0.000
11. 22 Joey Logano (P) Shell Pennzoil Ford 53.422 179.252
12. 43 Erik Jones FOCUSfactor Chevrolet 53.427 179.235
13. 16 Daniel Hemric(i) Celsius Chevrolet 53.433 179.215
14. 99 Daniel Suarez (P) Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet 53.453 179.148
15. 21 Harrison Burton # Dex Imaging Ford 53.459 179.128
16. 9 Chase Elliott (P) NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 53.461 179.121
17. 2 Austin Cindric # (P) Discount Tire Ford 53.465 179.108
18. 6 Brad Keselowski Kohler Generators Ford 53.468 179.098
19. 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Menards/Dutch Boy Ford 53.471 179.088
20. 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road 53.493 179.014
21. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 53.500 178.991
22. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 53.504 178.977
23. 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 53.551 178.820
24. 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Ford 53.570 178.757
25. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kroger/SunnyD Chevrolet 53.609 178.627
26. 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 53.668 178.430
27. 45 Bubba Wallace Leidos Toyota 53.680 178.390
28. 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 53.709 178.294
29. 34 Michael McDowell Love’s Travel Stops Ford 53.764 178.112
30. 42 Ty Dillon SunseekerResorts.com Chevrolet 53.781 178.055
31. 62 Justin Allgaier(i) Beard Oil/South Point Chevrolet 53.862 177.788
32. 7 Corey LaJoie Schluter Systems Chevrolet 54.053 177.159
33. 77 Landon Cassill(i) Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet 54.086 177.051
34. 38 Todd Gilliland # Georgia Peanuts Ford 54.098 177.012
35. 78 B.J. McLeod(i) NASCAR Rivals Ford 54.740 174.936
36. 15 J.J. Yeley(i) Summit Racing Equipment Ford 54.936 174.312
37. 51 Cody Ware Nurtec ODT UBCF Ford 54.940 174.299