TALLADEGA, Ala. — Christopher Bell earned his second pole of the season during qualifying Saturday afternoon for Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
The 27-year-old, who was fastest in the first round of qualifying, picked up 23-hundredths of a second in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota from his first run, turning a 52.927-second lap of the 2.66-mile oval.
Bell’s lap was only 0.081 faster than his teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the final round. In a stellar showing for Toyota, the manufacturer grabbed five of the top-10 quaifying spots.
“I can’t say that I got anything, that was all my crew guys,” Bell said. “(I’m) just very thankful to be in the position I am driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in this No. 20 Dewalt Camry, so we got a great team. This one is a really big thank you to Andy Graves at TRD, we ride him pretty hard, and I’ll give this engine a ten Andy.”
Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric was third in a Chevrolet, followed by the Chevrolets of Daniel Suarez and Kyle Larson.