LOUDON, N.H. – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell will start Monday’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 (Mon., Noon ET, USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a lap of 124.781 mph in the No. 20 JGR Toyota – just a tick faster at 0.007 seconds – than teammate Martin Truex Jr., who will start his No. 19 JGR Toyota alongside on the front row.
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Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola was close to earning his second pole in as many weeks – putting his No. 10 SHR Ford only 0.18 seconds off Bell’s work. He’ll start on the second row next to fellow Ford driver Joey Logano in the No. 22 Team Penske 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 as one of the 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 Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who 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 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota.
Brad Keselowski – a two-time New Hampshire race winner – will start the No. 6 RFK Racing 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.
Busch crashed during his qualifying lap, sustaining rear-end damage on his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet after contact with the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2. Busch advanced to the final round of qualifying after an earlier wall scrape in practice; he will be credited with the 10th starting spot.
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.
McDowell fastest in Cup Series practice
Michael McDowell topped the leaderboard in NASCAR Cup Series practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, notching a best lap of 126.416 mph in Saturday’s opening session.
McDowell’s No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford was just 0.002 seconds faster than second-best Martin Truex Jr., who posted a lap of 126.408 mph in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. In the consecutive 10-lap averages category, the two drivers flip-flopped their 1-2 order with Truex edging McDowell atop that list.
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Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain was third-fastest on the single-lap chart, followed by 23XI Racing teammates Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, who rounded out the top five in that order.
Kyle Busch scrubbed the outside retaining wall with the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, drifting too high out of Turn 2 during the first practice group. The No. 8 crew went to work on the damage to get Busch ready for qualifying.
Saturday’s Cup Series inspection wrapped up just before practice, and only one team — the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet for driver Noah Gragson — failed more than once. The two-time failure prompted NASCAR officials to eject No. 42 engineer Phillip Bell, plus the team forfeited pit-stall selection for Monday’s 301-lap race.
Contributing: Staff reports