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Nobody wants to be handed anything in the NASCAR Cup Series. But Christopher Bell will gladly accept the Fontana pole position. While he would have preferred to earn it on the track, he will not grumble about starting on the front row.
When rain canceled the entire Cup Series on-track action scheduled for Saturday (February 25), Bell was granted the pole for Sunday (February 26)'s Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway. The starting line-up for Sunday's race was determined using NASCAR's qualifying methodology, which takes into consideration a driver's prior race result and quickest lap, as well as owner points.
NASCAR qualifying for the Pala Casino 400 resumed on Saturday in Fontana, California. The event takes place at the Auto Club Raceway on Sunday, but qualifying takes place the day prior to determine the starting lineup. The qualifying event on FS1 begins at 2:50 p.m. ET and will last around 90 minutes. But due to the rain and snow, it was canceled.
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Christopher Bell will be joined on the front row by Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who will make his Cup debut for the first time since the 2021 Coca-Cola 600. Joey Logano, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, will start third. Kyle Larson, who won the race at Fontana last year, will start 15th.
NASCAR held a multi-day qualifying procedure a week ago to choose the lineup for the Daytona 500. Qualifying will be completed in 90 minutes this week, with two rounds of single-car racing. The first round of qualifying for the Pala Casino 400 will include 36 drivers divided into two groups. Each driver completes one circuit around the course, and the top five drivers from each group progress to the final round.
The 10 drivers that progress will next complete another lap to establish pole position. The quickest starts first, followed by the second fastest on the front row, the third and fourth fastest on the second row, and so on.
"I probably would have rather had practice" - Christopher Bell shares his thoughts on getting pole position
Christopher Bell might be in line for a great season. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is in his early twenties and is frequently ignored. If you exclude Ross Chastain's Martinsville Miracle, Bell was the topic of last year's playoffs. The two walk-off victories in the Rounds of 12 and 8 are as stunning as riding the wall.
Bell spoke with Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass about the pole position and his expectations coming into the Pala Casino 400:
“I probably would have rather had practice. Just to know what we had, but honestly, I was good either way, so. Yeah, I would have rather had practice but winning the pole by the formula deal is pretty gratifying, too.”
Christopher Bell and his crew will be hoping to have a vehicle ready to participate in this event. Some teams will encounter problems on the fly and will have to cope with them as best they can without a practice session.
