LAS VEGAS — For the first time this season, the pole-winning team did not select the No. 1 pit stall for the Cup race.
Instead, pole-sitter Christopher Bell will pit from stall No. 6 in Sunday’s playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after crew chief Adam Stevens passed on the first pit box.
It was an easy decision for Stevens.
“We’ve had the pole a couple of times here and picked the No. 1 stall and just really struggled to get out of the box and felt like we were giving up time and giving up spots,” Stevens told NBC Sports. “If you look historically, it’s not uncommon for the pole-sitter not to pick No. 1 here.”
How to watch Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Round of 8 playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sunday’s race marks the first chance for a playoff driver to secure a spot in next month’s title race at Phoenix.
In last year’s playoff race at Las Vegas, Bell had the No. 1 pit stall. He led the field to pit road under caution at Lap 212 of the 267-lap race. Bell exited pit road third. Kyle Larson exited pit road first and went on to win the race. Bell finished second.
“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,” Bell said of exiting the No. 1 pit stall in last year’s race. “I think if a couple things go differently at the end of that race, the outcome might have been different.”
Typically, the No. 1 pit stall is preferred at any track because the end of pit road is nearby and allows the car to accelerate without worry of speeding in the final timing zone.
Crew chiefs pick pit stalls based on where their car qualified. The pole winner gets first choice.
Stevens said he didn’t think the No. 1 pit stall held a significant advantage over the rest of the pit stalls because the “(pit exit) camera is pretty far away from pit stall 1 here. There’s places we go where it’s really close, like, you’re barley moving when you trip the camera and this is one not that way. The advantage is already inherently smaller here and I just think that that box leaves a little bit to be desired.”
NASCAR Las Vegas Cup playoff starting lineup 2024: Christopher Bell on pole; Tyler Reddick second
Joe Gibbs Racing driver will start first in Round of 8 opener.
Tyler Reddick, who qualified second, will pit in the No. 1 pit stall in Sunday’s race (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC).
This is the first time in the Next Gen era (since 2022) that the pole winner at Las Vegas did not take the No. 1 pit stall.
In 2021, Larson won the pole for the playoff race and crew chief Cliff Daniels took the No. 6 pit stall. Also that year, Kevin Harvick won the pole for the spring event and crew chief Rodney Childers selected the No. 6 stall.
The last two Cup races at Las Vegas were won by Larson, who was in pit stall No. 6 both times.
Bell will have an opening in front of him, allowing him easy access out of his stall. He will have Justin Haley in pit stall No. 7 behind him.
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