Christopher Bell wins pole ahead of FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway
Christopher Bell just laid down the fastest qualifying lap since the 2020 Daytona 500 and the best at Michigan since 2018. Bell is going to lead the field to green for the second time this season and the sixth time in his career. Locked into the NASCAR Playoffs, Bell is looking for a second win on the season.
Neither the reigning pole winner nor the reigning race winner made the final qualifying round. Bubba Wallace and Kevin Harvick both came up short as Chevy showed improvement in speed from last year’s Michigan race.
Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, and Joey Logano repped Ford in the final qualifying round. Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Ross Chastain were the Chevy drivers. Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs made it in the top-10 for Toyota.
When it was all said and done in the final round, Bell was the fastest. He held off Chastain and the rookie, Gibbs. Bell was also the pole winner at New Hampshire this season.
You have to be happy if you’re a Chase Elliott fan. This is another week where he has speed in qualifying. He was fourth fastest last week but didn’t have much to do with the lead at Richmond. The No. 9 NAPA Chevy team is hoping things change this week.
For Christopher Bell, this might be what he needs to get back to victory lane. He more or less squandered his chance at winning a second race. If he can avoid mistakes and trouble this Sunday, he will have a shot at taking the checkered flag.
Christopher Bell leads FireKeepers Casino 400 field
This season has been good, but not great for Bell. Many were hoping he would take a step up this year, but that has yet to happen. With that said, he is still fourth in points, has a win on the year, and has a number of other strong performances.
Bell put on quite a performance last season in the playoffs. He had two walk-off wins in the Round of 12 and Round of 8. When he had to get it done at the Roval, he did. When he had to win Martinsville, he did that too.
However, lately, Bell hasn’t been up to snuff. He was P4 at Richmond earlier in the year, back in March. Last week, he was P20. His last top-5 finish was his win at Bristol Dirt. Still, despite his struggles, Bell remains in a good position as far as the playoffs are concerned.
Christopher Bell has led for 247 laps this season. He’ll likely lead for at least one more tomorrow and then, he’llhope to be leading the last lap by the end of the night.