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Christopher Bell wins Kansas pole award to begin Round of 12 in NASCAR Playoffs

JHby:Jonathan Howard•about 15 hours•

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Christopher Bell Shriners Children's 500 Phoenix
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Quietly and methodically, Christopher Bell is peaking at the right time. He won the pole at Kansas, sweeping the season at the track. Bell has two poles this NASCAR season, both coming at Kansas.

Last year, we saw Christopher Bell win four pole awards in the playoffs, including sweeping the Round of 16. Now, he is back on pole again in the postseason. This is the third straight pole award at Kansas for Bell.

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In his last five races, Bell has finishes of P3, P3, P4, P14, and P5. Is he ready to put it in Victory Lane?

Christopher Bell now has four pole awards in his career at Kansas. He is one short of Kevin Harvick, who holds the Cup Series record for Kansas poles with five.

Toyota is strong at Kansas Speedway in the Next Gen era. 23XI Racing made it a habit of winning this race. If you throw Denny Hamlin in there, that only adds to the domination that the organization has had at the track.

Here is the full lineup for Sunday.

As for Bell, he has a great record at the track, but no wins yet.

If you take out a DNF from May of 2023, Bell’s finishes in the Next Gen car have been P5, P2, P8, and P6. With the pole secured, it feels like the No. 20 team might be ready for a big Sunday.

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Christopher Bell wants to punch ticket to Round of 8

If Christopher Bell, or any NASCAR Playoffs driver, wins this race, it gives them an advantage. At that point, you don’t have to stress about Talladega and you don’t have to worry if you qualify poorly at the Roval and get stuck in traffic.

Instead, a driver like Bell gets to focus on Las Vegas and Homestead-Miami and Martinsville. Take your pick, Bell has won at all three tracks. By studying up and preparing early for Vegas or Homestead, Bell and his team can dial their car in and try to get another win.

Bell has wins at Homestead and Martinsville, if he can spend an extra two weeks of prep on one of those tracks then he should have a good shot at making the Phoenix championship race. It at least gets a lot more straight forward for Bell with three tracks that match his strengths in the Round of 8.

Christopher Bell will lead the field to green on Sunday. Ty Gibbs will start on the outside of the front row with him.