Bell wins Talladega Cup pole in eventful qualifying session

Bell held off Kyle Larson to win the pole for Sunday’s playoff race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Bell’s average lap speed of 180.591 mph just edged Larson (180.516 mph). Bell’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin slotted in third (180.421 mph).

With two races remaining in the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, Bell is ranked 11th out of 12th drivers in the standings.

Following the Oct. 9 race at the Charlotte Roval, the four lowest drivers in points without a win in the round will be eliminated from further playoff competition.

The pole is Bell’s fourth of the 2022 season and his career.

“We’re in the best spot (to capitalize), that’s for sure,” Bell said. “We need to make up a lot of points over these next two races. Hopefully, we can maintain our track position.

“Talladega has been maybe a little bit better for me than Daytona so, yeah, just really proud of everyone on his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team. They’ve done a really good job bringing fast race cars, week-in and week-out.

“We have to score points in Stage 1 and Stage 2 and then obviously finish up as high as we can in the race. We’re going to be after it hard. I’ll have to see if I can do my job and keep it up front.”

Aric Almirola ended up fourth and Chase Briscoe rounded out the top-five.

Completing the top-10 lineup are Ross Chastain, Noah Gragson (filling in for Alex Bowman), Tyler Reddick, William Byron and Ty Gibbs, although Gibbs’s No. 23 Toyota may require repairs and he could lose his starting position on Sunday.

Cla	#	Driver		Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	20	Christopher Bell		Toyota	2	53.026			180.591
2	5	Kyle Larson		Chevrolet	2	53.048	0.022	0.022	180.516
3	11	Denny Hamlin		Toyota	2	53.076	0.050	0.028	180.421
4	10	Aric Almirola		Ford	2	53.166	0.140	0.090	180.115
5	14	Chase Briscoe		Ford	2	53.268	0.242	0.102	179.770
6	1	Ross Chastain		Chevrolet	2	53.320	0.294	0.052	179.595
7	48	Noah Gragson		Chevrolet	2	53.356	0.330	0.036	179.474
8	8	Tyler Reddick		Chevrolet	2	53.388	0.362	0.032	179.366
9	24	William Byron		Chevrolet	2	53.434	0.408	0.046	179.212
10	23	Ty Gibbs		Toyota

Round 1

Hamlin, one of the last to qualify, set a blistering pace in the first round with an average lap speed of 180.281 mph.

Briscoe ended up second (179.993 mph) and Bell was third (179.905 mph). Larson was fourth and Chastain rounded out the top-five.

Also advancing to the final round were Reddick, Almirola, Gibbs, Byron and Gragson.

Following Reddick’s qualifying run, he brought his No. 8 Chevrolet down pit road but was not able to stop his car in time as he nosed towards the pit wall and struck a NASCAR official.

The official suffered minor injuries and damage was sustained to Reddick’s car, which may require repairs. If so, he will also lose his starting position and start Sunday’s race from the rear of the field.

“I went to the brakes and they were a little soft and I probably should have pumped them up a few times coming down pit road. I just screwed that up,” Reddick said.

“I’m really glad (the official) is doing OK. To me, that’s what’s important. I really don’t give a (expletive) about my race car. I’m glad it wasn’t any worse.”

During Gibbs’ qualifying run, smoke began billowing out around the right-front tire of his No. 23 Toyota. He completed his lap and posted a competitive speed.

The team eventually determined there was a fluid leak. Work will have to be performed on the car and Gibbs will end up having to start from the rear of the field in Sunday’s race.

11	22	Joey Logano		Ford	2	53.422	0.305	0.007	179.252
12	43	Erik Jones		Chevrolet	2	53.427	0.310	0.005	179.235
13	16	Daniel Hemric		Chevrolet	2	53.433	0.316	0.006	179.215
14	99	Daniel Suarez		Chevrolet	2	53.453	0.336	0.020	179.148
15	21	Harrison Burton		Ford	2	53.459	0.342	0.006	179.128
16	9	Chase Elliott		Chevrolet	2	53.461	0.344	0.002	179.121
17	2	Austin Cindric		Ford	2	53.465	0.348	0.004	179.108
18	6	Brad Keselowski		Ford	2	53.468	0.351	0.003	179.098
19	12	Ryan Blaney		Ford	2	53.471	0.354	0.003	179.088
20	3	Austin Dillon		Chevrolet	2	53.493	0.376	0.022	179.014
21	31	Justin Haley		Chevrolet	2	53.500	0.383	0.007	178.991
22	19	Martin Truex Jr.		Toyota	2	53.504	0.387	0.004	178.977
23	17	Chris Buescher		Ford	2	53.551	0.434	0.047	178.820
24	4	Kevin Harvick		Ford	2	53.570	0.453	0.019	178.757
25	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.		Chevrolet	2	53.609	0.492	0.039	178.627
26	18	Kyle Busch		Toyota	2	53.668	0.551	0.059	178.430
27	45	Bubba Wallace		Toyota	2	53.680	0.563	0.012	178.390
28	41	Cole Custer		Ford	2	53.709	0.592	0.029	178.294
29	34	Michael McDowell		Ford	2	53.764	0.647	0.055	178.112
30	42	Ty Dillon		Chevrolet	2	53.781	0.664	0.017	178.055
31	62	Justin Allgaier		Chevrolet	2	53.862	0.745	0.081	177.788
32	7	Corey Lajoie		Chevrolet	2	54.053	0.936	0.191	177.159
33	77	Landon Cassill		Chevrolet	2	54.086	0.969	0.033	177.051
34	38	Todd Gilliland		Ford	2	54.098	0.981	0.012	177.012
35	78	B.J. McLeod		Ford	2	54.740	1.623	0.642	174.936
36	15	J.J. Yeley		Ford	2	54.936	1.819	0.196	174.312
37	51	Cody Ware		Ford	2	54.940	1.823	0.004	174.299