LAS VEGAS — 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 Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) — 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 Playoffs 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 on Sunday would be his first victory from the top starting spot on the grid.
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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 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 Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Chevrolet.
Reddick rolls to top of practice leaderboard
Tyler Reddick posted the fastest lap in NASCAR Cup Series practice Saturday afternoon, leading a top-three sweep by Toyota drivers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Reddick logged a best lap of 183.187 mph in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. He topped a pair of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Martin Truex Jr. (182.723) and Ty Gibbs (182.519), who completed the top three.
MORE: Practice results | Las Vegas weekend schedule
Ross Chastain was fourth-fastest in the session, with rookie Carson Hocevar rounding out the fastest five.
Ryan Blaney crashed early in the Group B session, looping his No. 12 Team Penske Ford into the outside wall after a tire went flat entering the first turn. Blaney was treated and released from the infield care center, and the defending series champ will start at the rear of the field Sunday.
Blaney was forced to miss qualifying and will put a backup 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.”
Contributing: Staff reports
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