Christopher Bell won the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series’ Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN Bet at Kansas Speedway Saturday (Sept. 28) for Joe Gibbs Racing with a lap at 179.336 mph. It is his second pole of the season, the other of which came at Kansas in the spring. It is Bell’s third consecutive pole at the track and fourth overall. The Norman, Okla. native won his 12th Cup pole of his career.
Bell enters Kansas second in points, 24 points above the cutline.
Bell’s JGR teammate Ty Gibbs will share the front row with Bell after clocking in at 179.099 mph. Gibbs was eliminated from the playoffs in the Round of 16, setting the mark as the fastest of the non-playoff drivers.
Kyle Busch slotted in third in his Richard Childress Racing No. 8 Chevrolet, joining Gibbs as the only two non-playoff drivers in the top 10, and last year’s winner of this event Tyler Reddick qualified fourth. Joey Logano was the fastest Ford for Team Penske and completed the top five.
Playoff drivers William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top 10 starters.
Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman were the first drivers out in first round of qualifying, setting up row six, and Austin Cindric, the third Team Penske driver in the playoffs, slotted in at 17th.
HMS’s Chase Elliott had an engine problem on his No. 9 Chevrolet. He made a qualifying lap so that he could start on fresher qualifying tires rather than his practice tires, but the Dawsonville, Ga. native will start at the back.
Thirty-eight drivers entered into the race, two shy of the maximum 40. Therefore, all drivers qualified into the race.
The Round of 12 will begin Sunday, Sept 29 at 3 p.m. ET. Broadcasting will be provided by USA Network.
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