NASCAR News: Bell wins pole for South Point 400 Cup Race

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell earned the pole position for Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – his third pole of the year and third at the 1.5-mile Vegas high banks.

Saturday’s lap of 185.344 mph in the No. 20 JGR Toyota bested fellow NASCAR Cup Series Playoff driver Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota by a slight .013 seconds. It marks the 13th career pole position for the 29-year-old Bell; however, a win Sunday would be his first victory from the top starting spot on the grid.

The second-place starter has won the last three Las Vegas races. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch is the last driver to win at Vegas from pole position – in 2009.

“I feel really good, I feel really comfortable,” said Bell, who is currently ranked second to Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson in the championship standings as the three-race Round of 8 takes the green flag Sunday.

“In practice, I don’t think the pace showed what we had but inside the car I felt super, super comfortable so I know we’ll have a shot tomorrow. I’ve been in this position many a time and haven’t won the race . …We’ve come close several times and this is a great race track for me so I’m really optimistic. I think we’ve got the car to do it.”

Six of the eight playoff cars advanced to the final round of qualifying, including Bell’s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin, who will roll off fourth. Larson – who has won the last two races in Las Vegas – will start fifth, with Hendrick’s William Byron ninth and Team Penske’s Joey Logano in 10th.

Hendrick’s Alex Bowman,, who was eliminated from Playoff contention just last week, will start third.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott was one of only two playoff drivers who did not make the final round of time trials and he will start his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 18th.

Of note, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will start 29th in the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota – the eighth start of the season for the team’s owner-driver. New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen will start 34th in the Kaulig Racing No. 16 Chevrolet.

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

What is it going to take to win from the pole for the first time tomorrow?

Bell: “A lot of execution. Las Vegas, and all of these Cup races, are just really long races and there is a lot of things that go on between the green flag and the checkered flag that dictates the outcome of the race. I’ve sat in this position many times now, and I’ve yet to win the race on Sunday starting from that first position. We’ve come close several times, and this is a great race track for me. I’m optimistic about it and I felt really good in practice. Sometimes that means more than you see in qualifying. I think we have the car to do it, and hopefully, I’m up for the job, our team executes well, and we are able to put it all together.”

What lessons have you learned racing Kyle Larson over the years?
Bell: “Don’t lose the battle off pit road (laughter). In all reality, I think that race came down to that pit stop. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and I actually talked about what we were going to do if we were in this position, and what pit stall we were going to choose. Last year, I had that number one pit stall, and I couldn’t quite accelerate out of it, and I lost a couple positions in the drag race to the camera that last pit stop. I think if a couple things go differently at the end of that race, the outcome might have been different. The 6 (Brad Keselowski) was able to sneak by me, and it took several laps to get by him and I lost precious ground to Kyle (Larson). There is no doubt – he’s the favorite here. Kyle is. I think he’s won about every race and every stage in the history of the Next Gen car here, so he is going to be fast tomorrow, but I promise you will be right there with him.”

Do you intend selecting the number one pit stall this time?

Bell: “I’m going to leave that up to Adam (Stevens, crew chief).”

Do you have any memories with Wayne Auton?

Bell: “Yeah, I definitely do. Wayne (Auton) is an amazing race director. He’s one of the only ones that have given young drivers, myself at the time, advice. I remember him telling us that you have to practice getting out the right side of the car, and that is stuff is so valuable and stuff that I took with me the rest of my career, when I got to the Cup Series, and then with the car change, figuring out how to get out of the right side of the Next Gen car. He’s an awesome person that really looks after the racers and makes sure that they are doing well.”

What track would you compare Las Vegas to?

Bell: “I would say that it really is a cross between Kansas and Charlotte. Kansas, the track is probably a little bit slicker than Vegas, where Charlotte probably matches up a little bit closer on grip level, but the bumps here in (turns) one and two, are unlike Kansas. Kansas doesn’t have any bumps, and Charlotte does have bumps. Kansas, here and Charlotte are all really similar race tracks, and places that we’ve performed really well at. Certainly, excited about this and I’ve been excited about this whole round. Here, Homestead and Martinsville are all tracks we are going to run really well at, and on the flip side, all of the competition is going to run really well at too. It is going to be a really, really tough round, and the guy that wins this race is going to be walking out of here feeling really good.”

Do you wish you had more attention on you or do you like that you quietly perform?

Bell: “You know, I’ve been asked this about 18 times today (laughter). I don’t care. I just don’t care. I’m going to do my deal, whether I’m headlines or I’m not headlines. I’m going to be frustrated whenever I lose, and I’m going to be happy whenever I win, no matter what the headlines say. I don’t care if you guys talk about me or not. I’m going to try my hardest to win the race, and that is that.”

South Point 400 Las Vegas GP Qualifying Results