Entering the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Christopher Bell and his Joe Gibbs Racing team have admittedly flown under the radar, despite finishing fourth place in regular-season point standings.
But now, everybody is keeping their eyes on the No. 20 Toyota Camry TRD, after the Norman, Oklahoma native fired the first warning shot in qualifying from Darlington Raceway.
For the third time in the last eight races, Bell will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to green, posting a lap of 29.065 seconds (169.193mph) to score the pole for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500.
Denny Hamlin, a teammate to Bell at Joe Gibbs Racing, will start alongside the driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry on Sunday, after a time just 0.026 seconds behind the eventual polesitter.
Tyler Reddick will start from third-place, ensuring a top-three sweep for Toyota in Saturday’s single-vehicle qualifying session at Darlington. Behind the top three is a stretch of eight Ford Mustangs, starting with Ryan Blaney in fourth, and Brad Keselowski completing the top five.
Joey Logano will start from sixth, while Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, and Aric Almirola will round out the first five rows for the playoff-opener.
Almirola, driving the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing, was the only non-playoff driver to advance into the second round of qualifying.
Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ross Chastain, and Martin Truex, Jr. were the seven playoff-eligible drivers who failed to advance to the final round of qualifying at Darlington.
In Saturday’s 20-minute practice session, Larson, Byron, and Stenhouse all showed incredible race pace but weren’t able to back up that speed in time trial, relegating them to starting spots of 18th, 23rd, and 25th, respectively.
Martin Truex, Jr. will start Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 from 31st, after a massive bobble on his qualifying lap, which cost him lots of time, and several positions on the grid to start the playoff-opener at Darlington Raceway.
Carson Hocevar, making his second-ever start at NASCAR’s top-level driving for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, put down a stellar lap in qualifying on Saturday, placing the Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet in 15th.
.@CarsonHocevar will start 15th in Sunday's #Southern500 at @TooToughToTame, driving the No. 42 for @LEGACYMOTORCLUB.
For reference, that's just the fifth top-15 qualifying result for the organization in the #NASCAR Cup Series this year. https://t.co/3AGd88h6OL
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) September 2, 2023
Ryan Preece, who was cleared to return to competition after a horrible crash at Daytona, didn’t have a stellar lap in qualifying, which will leave him placed 34th on the starting grid for Sunday’s 500-mile contest.
Another notable driver who failed to advance to the second round of qualifying was Chase Elliott, whose No. 9 Chevrolet will start 13th. The Hendrick Motorsports team is qualifying for the Owner’s Playoffs.
Qualifying Results: Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington
Qualifying Results: NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington
