Christopher Bell wins Bristol Night Race pole award, completes Round of 16 sweep
For the third time in three weeks, Christopher Bell won the pole award in the NASCAR Cup Series. This time at Bristol. I’m not sure what Joe Gibbs Racing is putting into that No. 20 Toyota Camry TRD every week, but it has been fantastic.
Never before has someone swept the pole awards in the Round of 16. He was P23 at Darlington and P8 at Kansas. Is this the week where his pole translates into a win?
Bristol Motor Speedway is a tough race track and this night race is going to be awesome. Fast Toyotas and Chevys and Fords all throughout the top-10 in qualifying.
They will all be led to the green flag by Christopher Bell. 500 laps lined up for Saturday night.
Denny Hamlin is going to start on the front row with his JGR teammate. They will be followed by William Byron, Michael McDowell, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, and Corey LaJoie.
This is going to be a fun night race. The time has moved up an hour to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night. Four drivers are getting eliminated when it is all said and done, what more could you ask for?
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Christopher Bell needs another solid performance
No matter what happens tonight, Christopher Bell can’t afford to have a race like he did at the Southern 500. He is close enough to that cutline that he has to worry about performing well for most of this race. Grabbing stage points could help him in case he has a late-race issue.
If he goes out and executes and finishes in the top-5 like he should, then he will more than likely be fine. If he isn’t able to do that, well then you start doing the math as the laps wind down and the playoff eliminations get closer.
I’m not sure why Bell hasn’t carried his speed through to a great finish in the last two weeks. However, it feels like he is just on the verge of a breakthrough. He keeps bringing fast Camrys to the track and keeps getting it done in qualifying.
Now Christopher Bell has to show that he can do it in the race and grab his first checkered flag since Bristol Dirt.