Christopher Bell speeds to third consecutive Kansas Speedway pole

KANSAS CITY, Kan.--For once, Chistopher Bell believes he has a car that is suitable for racing and also incredibly fast during qualifying at Kansas Speedway.

Driving around the 1.5-mile track in 30.111 seconds (179.336 mph) during the final round of Saturday's time trials, Bell narrowly beat out his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs (179.099 mph) by 0.040 seconds to claim the top starting spot for Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET (3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Bell will begin the first race of the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs from a familiar position. He has now earned the Busch Light Pole Award at this track for the third consecutive race and fourth time overall.

Also see this picks: Tennessee Volunteers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 21st 2024 Also see this picks: Southern Methodist Mustangs vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 21st 2024

\"I have to give credit to the people who work on this race car,\" said Bell, who secured his second pole position of the season and the 12th of his career. \"We arrived with what is probably the best Kansas car we have ever had.

\"It has always been a great track for us to qualify at, but when it comes to racing, we usually end up in the third to seventh range. Today was different. The car felt really good during practice and I felt very comfortable driving it.\"

Despite his success in qualifying, Bell has never been able to turn a pole position into a victory at Kansas Speedway. He hopes to change that on Sunday as the second round of the playoffs begins.

\"The challenge at Kansas is maintaining balance,\" Bell explained. \"With these (Gen 7) cars, it can change drastically. You may start off feeling comfortable, but depending on your car, you may end up being too tight or too loose.

\"Usually, the fastest lane is up top, but you have to adjust your line based on your car's balance. I need to drive a little better tomorrow than I have in previous races at Kansas, but I definitely have the car to do it.\"

Bell enters the Round of 12 in second place in the standings, 24 points above the current cut line for the Round of 8. After his dominant win at Bristol, top-seeded Kyle Larson will start 11th on Sunday.

Gibbs and third-place starter Kyle Busch (178.643 mph) were the only two non-playoff drivers to advance to the final round during Saturday's time trials.

Also see this picks: Clemson Tigers vs. Texas Longhorns Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 21st 2024 Also see this picks: Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 21st 2024

Tyler Reddick, who is third in the standings, will start in the fourth spot on the grid, followed by Joey Logano, William Byron, defending series champion Ryan Blaney, four-time Kansas winner Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, and Daniel Suarez.

Larson won the spring race at Kansas in 2024, while Reddick is the defending winner of this event.

Playoff drivers Alex Bowman, Austin Cindric, and Chase Elliott will start 12th, 17th, and 38th, respectively. Elliott experienced issues with his engine during practice and qualifying, resulting in an engine change.

--By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.