NASCAR: Bell wins pole in Kansas

NASCAR hits the halfway point of the Cup Series regular season this weekend with the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Qualifying for the race took place Saturday with the usual two rounds of single-lap runs. Four Toyotas, three Chevrolets and three Fords made it to the second and final round.

Christopher Bell secured the top spot on the starting grid with a qualifying lap of 179.575 mph. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver now has three pole wins on the season, but so far no race wins. He comes into Sunday’s race 10th in the driver point standings.

Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Rheem Toyota, poses for photos after winning the pole award for the NASCAR Cup Series AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 14, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

“We have everything we need to win the races, that is for sure,” Bell said, per NASCAR.com. “Our cars are super-fast. I feel like I’ve been driving pretty well, especially the last couple of weeks specifically. We just have to maintain our track position.”

Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick will be on the front row with Bell after turning a lap of 178.855 mph.

A Toyota (Christopher Bell) and a Chevrolet (Tyler Reddick) make up the front row for Sunday’s race. Chevy (Kyle Larson), Ford (Austin Cindric) and Toyota (Kurt Busch) complete the top five.

Only the 36 Cup Series charter teams entered the race, meaning another field that is less than full.

Start Driver Car No. Team
1 Christopher Bell 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
2 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
3 Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports
4 Austin Cindric 2 Team Penske
5 Kurt Busch 45 23XI Racing
6 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
7 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
8 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports
9 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
10 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
11 Ross Chastain 1 TrackHouse Racing
12 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
13 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
14 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
15 Justin Haley 31 Kaulig Racing
16 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racingq
17 Ty Dillon 42 Petty GMS Motorsports
18 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
19 Daniel Suarez 99 TrackHouse Racing
20 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire Motorsports
21 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
22 Erik Jones 43 Petty GMS Motorsports
23 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
24 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing
25 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
26 Harrison Burton 21 Wood Brothers Racing
27 JJ Yeley 15 Rick Ware Racing
28 Noah Gragson 16 Kaulig Racing
29 Cody Ware 51 Rick Ware Racing
30 Brad Keselowski 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
31 Todd Gilliland 38 Front Row Motorsports
32 BJ McLeod 78 Live Fast Motorsports
33 Josh Bilicki 77 Spire Motorsports
34 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
35 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
36 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing