Christopher Bell wins Crayon 301 pole award at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

In his quest for another New Hampshire win, Christopher Bell wins the Crayon 301 pole award and will lead the field to green. The Joe Gibbs Racing cars were strong, as were the 23XI Racing Toyotas. Beating out Martin Truex Jr. for the NASCAR pole award, it will be an all-JGR front row as the green flag drops on Sunday (or possibly on Monday).

This was a hard qualifying effort from Christopher Bell. He has a lot of pressure on him to repeat at this track. Now that pressure only goes up. This is the sixth pole of Bell’s career and he’s well on his way to taking Loudon the Lobster home once again.

Bell is going to have a big target on his back. I think he’ll take it though. One step closer to claiming his second career win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Retweet to congratulate Christopher Bell on his NASCAR Cup Series pole in New Hampshire! https://t.co/9tNSlhl1nT pic.twitter.com/LSgthzPZrb

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) July 15, 2023

Coming into the weekend as the odds-on-favorite, Christopher Bell is living up to expectations. He didn’t throw down the fastest lap of the qualifying session, but he had the fastest lap in the final round. That’s really all that matters in the end.

Among one of his toughest stretches, since he’s been at JGR, Bell needs this pole win. He also needs a top-5 finish, or even better yet, a win. Finishes of P2 and P1 in his two starts at NHMS with JGR, this looks like another great performance is coming right up.

Christopher Bell looking to become next Magic Mile driver

There are two drivers tied for the most win ever at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Of course, it is Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick. Those two have four wins a piece at the Magic Mile. Burton has been retired for a number of years, meanwhile, Harvick is calling it quits after this season.

Perhaps this is Christopher Bell emerging as the next driver to take ownership of New Hampshire. Bell has a lot going for him. With a win under his belt and a pole award as well now, he’s making a strong case to be the next one to fill that role.

The thing that separated Burton and Harvick from other multiple-time winners at NHMS, was streaks. Doing it in a cluster, in a matter of just a few short years. All four of Burton’s wins came between 1997-2000. Three of Harvick’s four wins came between 2016-2019. If Bell grabs a win this weekend, he’ll put himself in that category as well.

Winning a race is hard. Repeating your win a year later, might be even more difficult. These things don’t just happen all the time. Christopher Bell is up for the challenge, though.