Christopher Bell won the pole in qualifying for Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Photo: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
For Christopher Bell, Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session brought an unprecedented accomplishment.
For Martin Truex, Jr., Bell’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, it brought a sense of relief — if that’s possible for a driver trying to climb above the cut line in the series Playoffs.
In the final round of time trials at the 0.533-mile short track, Bell turned a lap in 15.109 seconds (126.997 mph), edging another teammate, Denny Hamlin, by 0.008 seconds (126.930 mph) for the top starting spot in Saturday night’s race, whose starting time was moved up to 6:35 p.m. because of the potential for rain later in the evening.
That performance in the money round gave Bell an unprecedented sweep of the pole positions in the first three Playoff races of 2023. The Busch Light Pole Award was Bell’s fifth of the season, his first at Bristol and the ninth of his career.
“It doesn’t get much closer than that — that’s crazy tight,” Bell said of his margin over Hamlin. (But) 500 laps (on Saturday) is an awfully long time. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that qualifying means nothing for the race.”
Bell knows whereof he speaks. After winning poles at Darlington and Kansas in the first two Playoff races, Bell finished 23rd and eighth, respectively. As a result, he has a 13-point margin over Truex, the first driver below the current cutoff for the Round of 12.
Truex (126.154 mph) qualified fifth behind fellow Playoff drivers Bell, Hamlin, William Byron (126.345 mph) and Michael McDowell (126.220 mph). That’s a boon for the regular-season champion, who trails 12th-place Kevin Harvick by seven points and 11th-place Joey Logano by 12.
On Saturday night, Harvick will start 21st and Logano 28th as they battle to advance to the Round of 12.
Bell was happy to see Truex set up a potential good run with his fifth-place qualifying effort.
“I think Bristol probably owes him one,” Bell said. “Hopefully, we can get all three of these JGR Camrys into the next round. I certainly know that we have the speed to do it… Martin put himself in a good spot, so hopefully he can make it happen.”
Brad Keselowski qualified sixth, followed by Dawsonville, Georgia’s Chase Elliott. Ty Gibbs qualified eighth, followed by Playoff driver Bubba Wallace and Corey LaJoie.
NASCAR Cup Series
Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, TN
Bass Pro Shops Night Race – September 15, 2023
Friday’s Qualifying Results
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 20 Christopher Bell (P) Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota 15.109 126.997
2. 11 Denny Hamlin (P) FedEx Freight Direct Toyota 15.117 126.930
3. 24 William Byron (P) Relay Payments Chevrolet 15.187 126.345
4. 34 Michael McDowell (P) Love’s/Delo Ford 15.202 126.220
5. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. (P) Bass Pro Shops Toyota 15.210 126.154
6. 6 Brad Keselowski (P) Castrol Edge Ford 15.233 125.963
7. 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet 15.239 125.914
8. 54 Ty Gibbs # Monster Energy Toyota 15.239 125.914
9. 23 Bubba Wallace (P) Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota 15.241 125.897
10. 7 Corey LaJoie NEGU Chevrolet 15.274 125.625
11. 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Advance Auto Parts Ford 15.230 125.988
12. 45 Tyler Reddick (P) Jordan Brand Toyota 15.245 125.864
13. 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 15.252 125.806
14. 14 Chase Briscoe Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford 15.264 125.708
15. 8 Kyle Busch (P) Cheddar’s/ALSCO Uniforms Chevrolet 15.282 125.559
16. 42 Carson Hocevar(i) Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet 15.293 125.469
17. 41 Ryan Preece Operating Engineers Ford 15.306 125.363
18. 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 15.312 125.313
19. 31 Justin Haley Mountain Dew Chevrolet 15.343 125.060
20. 17 Chris Buescher (P) BuildSubmarines.com Ford 15.345 125.044
21. 4 Kevin Harvick (P) GEARWRENCH Ford 15.354 124.971
22. 16 A.J. Allmendinger Barger Precast Chevrolet 15.362 124.906
23. 1 Ross Chastain (P) Worldwide Express Chevrolet 15.365 124.881
24. 99 Daniel Suarez Aerial Recovery Chevrolet 15.367 124.865
25. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (P) Scott Brand Chevrolet 15.372 124.824
26. 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield/IHOP Ford 15.372 124.824
27. 51 Ryan Newman Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford 15.414 124.484
28. 22 Joey Logano (P) Shell Pennzoil Ford 15.416 124.468
29. 2 Austin Cindric Menards/Monster Ford 15.427 124.379
30. 38 Todd Gilliland Speedy Cash Ford 15.433 124.331
31. 43 Erik Jones U.S. AIR FORCE Chevrolet 15.494 123.841
32. 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 15.538 123.491
33. 77 Ty Dillon Gainbridge Chevrolet 15.538 123.491
34. 78 B.J. McLeod(i) FreedomWorksHere.com Chevrolet 15.610 122.921
35. 15 J.J. Yeley(i) Steakhouse Elite Burgers Ford 15.793 121.497
36. 5 Kyle Larson (P) Valvoline/Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet 15.810 121.366
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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