July 15, 2023 | By Holly Cain
LOUDON, N.H. – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell will start Sunday’s Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway exactly where he finished his last start at the 1.058-mile New England track: in position No. 1.
Bell, 28, won Saturday’s pole qualifying session for the Crayon 301 (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a lap of 124.781 mph in the No. 20 JGR Toyota – just a tick faster – .007-seconds – than his teammate, Martin Truex Jr., who will start his No. 19 JGR Toyota alongside on the front row.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola was close to earning his second pole in as many weeks – putting his No. 10 SHR Ford only .18-second off Bell’s work. He’ll start on the second row next to fellow Ford driver Joey Logano in the No. 22 Penske Racing Ford Mustang.
It’s the first pole position of the year for Bell and fifth of his career and it comes at a track where the Oklahoma-native has already established himself one of the very best. He joins Kyle Busch as the only two drivers with victories in all three of NASCAR’s national series at New Hampshire – highlighted by last year’s NASCAR Cup Series win and also including three consecutive NASCAR Xfinity race wins from 2018-21 and a 2017 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory.
“The amount of sliding around we did today, the lack of grip, I think the cream is going to rise to the top [in the race],’’ Bell said. “The good drivers, good cars will be able to pass and get their way to the front. I start at the front and hopefully we stay up there but this is a place where people will try different strategies by staying out, taking two tires, short-pitting, long-pitting, whatever the case may be so you’re not guaranteed to just start out front and stay there all day.”
The remaining top qualifiers include Penske Racing’s Joey Logano and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick will start fifth and sixth on the third row. Current NASCAR Cup Series championship leader William Byron was the only Hendrick Motorsports driver to advance to the final qualifying round and he will start his No. 24 Chevrolet seventh – alongside Reddick’s teammate Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota.
Brad Keselowski – a two-time New Hampshire race winner – will start the No. 6 Roush-Fenway-Keselowski Ford ninth, alongside a fellow champion of the sport, three-time New Hampshire NASCAR Cup Series race winner Kyle Busch in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick – a four-time New Hampshire winner – will start 13th in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. He is attempting to become the track’s all-time winningest driver in his final start before retiring at the conclusion of the season.
Noah Gragson was the top qualifying rookie. He’ll roll off 29th in the Legacy Motor Club No. 42 Chevrolet. Fellow rookie Ty Gibbs will start the No. 54 JGR Toyota last in the 36-car race field.
Holly Cain | NASCAR
