Christopher Bell Collects Third Busch Light Pole Award at Las Vegas
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell earned the pole position for Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – 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-second. 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 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, Hendrick’s William Byron and Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who will start ninth and 10threspectively.
Hendrick’s Alex Bowman,, who was eliminated from Playoff contention just last week, will start third. Spire Motorsports rookie Carson Hocevar will roll off sixth. Trackhouse Racing’ Ross Chastain (seventh) and JGR’s Ty Gibbs (eighth) were the other drivers to advance to the final qualifying round.
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.
The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, had an incident during practice – hitting the wall after cutting a rear tire – and was forced to miss qualifying. He will put a back-up No. 12 Penske Ford on the grid, starting last in the 37-car field.
“It’ll be a big challenge for multiple reasons, but I feel confident,’’ said Blaney, whose 11.4 average finish at Las Vegas is third best among the Playoff drivers.
“Hopefully, we can make our way through there. We’ve got all race. We might not be able to get stage points in the first one, but hopefully by the second one maybe we’ll get some stage points and then hopefully the speed is good enough to where we can run up towards the front. Yeah, it sets us back a little bit, but this group is ready to go and they know the new task. It’s gonna be a tall one tomorrow, but I’ve got faith we can make the most of it.”
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.
Starting Line Up by Row
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
South Point 400
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 10/19/2024 @ 06:29 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Joey Logano 03/03/19 2:35:11 154.849
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 20 Christopher Bell (P) Rheem Toyota 29.135 185.344
2 45 Tyler Reddick (P) Jordan Brand Toyota 29.148 185.261
Row 2: 3 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 29.195 184.963
4 11 Denny Hamlin (P) Yahoo! Toyota 29.181 185.052
Row 3: 5 5 Kyle Larson (P) HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 29.205 184.900
6 77 Carson Hocevar # Delaware Life Chevrolet 29.254 184.590
Row 4: 7 1 Ross Chastain Worldwide Express Chevrolet 29.219 184.811
8 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 29.275 184.458
Row 5: 9 24 William Byron (P) RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 29.242 184.666
10 22 Joey Logano (P) Pennzoil Ford 29.287 184.382
Row 6: 11 2 Austin Cindric Autotrader Ford 29.247 184.634
12 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 29.358 183.936
Row 7: 13 3 Austin Dillon Boot Barn Chevrolet 29.269 184.496
14 71 Zane Smith # Focused Health Chevrolet 29.369 183.867
Row 8: 15 34 Michael McDowell Love's Travel Stops Ford 29.298 184.313
16 7 Justin Haley Gainbridge Chevrolet 29.371 183.855
Row 9: 17 6 Brad Keselowski King's Hawaiian Ford 29.334 184.087
18 9 Chase Elliott (P) NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 29.381 183.792
Row 10: 19 23 Bubba Wallace Leidos/U.S. Air Force Toyota 29.355 183.955
20 8 Kyle Busch FICO Chevrolet 29.461 183.293
Row 11: 21 10 Noah Gragson Fanttik Ford 29.381 183.792
22 17 Chris Buescher Castrol Edge Ford 29.492 183.101
Row 12: 23 99 Daniel Suarez Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet 29.395 183.705
24 14 Chase Briscoe Texas A&M University Ford 29.592 182.482
Row 13: 25 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Scott Brand Chevrolet 29.430 183.486
26 42 John Hunter Nemechek Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota 29.623 182.291
Row 14: 27 43 Erik Jones Massey Motor Freight Toyota 29.434 183.461
28 4 Josh Berry # Mobil 1 Take 5 Ford 29.663 182.045
Row 15: 29 84 Jimmie Johnson Dollar Tree/Family Dollar Toyota 29.446 183.387
30 38 Todd Gilliland gener8tor Ford 30.006 179.964
Row 16: 31 21 Harrison Burton DEX Imaging Ford 29.525 182.896
32 41 Ryan Preece Bonanza Cabernet Ford 30.016 179.904
Row 17: 33 31 Daniel Hemric South Point Hotel and Casino Chevrolet 29.527 182.883
34 16 Shane Van Gisbergen(i) Wendy's Spicy Chicken Chevrolet 30.457 177.299
Row 18: 35 51 Corey LaJoie Mighty Fire Breaker Ford 29.811 181.141
36 15 Cody Ware Evel Knievel-Parts Plus/Pronto Ford 30.912 174.689
Row 19: 37 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Menards/Great Stuff Ford 0.000 0.000
Did Not Qualify: None.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 14 0 Ford 14 0
Toyota 9 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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