Christopher Bell will start on pole for Sunday’s South Point Casino 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
It was the sixth pole of the season for the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and the fourth of the NASCAR Playoffs.
Bell topped the final round of qualifying with a fastest speed of 186.335 mph, edging Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson by 0.01 seconds.
Slotting in third was Larson’s teammate William Byron, followed by JGR driver Martin Truex Jr. in fourth. It’s Truex’s best qualifying effort in the playoffs since Kansas Speedway (third).
RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher wheeled his No. 17 Ford to a fifth-place starting position.
“Pretty good. That was certainly strong for us,” Buescher said after qualifying. “We were wide-open there, so as far as trying to figure out how to get a little bit more it’s gonna be tricky, but it’s a heck of a start for us. I’m proud to take TA to a good starting spot. I’m looking forward to a great race tomorrow as well.”
Kyle Busch will start sixth, followed by the 23XI Racing duo of Bubba Wallace (seventh) and Tyler Reddick (eighth).
Joey Logano and Ross Chastain rounded out the top 10.
Notable playoff drivers qualifying outside the top 10 includes Ryan Blaney (12th) and Denny Hamlin (15th).
Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez did not make a qualifying attempt after both drivers crashed in practice. Elliott and Suarez will move to backup cars and start 35th (Elliott) and 36th (Suarez).