Christopher Bell will lead the Cup Series field to the green flag at Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. ET on USA Network).
Bell won the pole with a lap of 180.276 mph. This is his second consecutive pole and fourth of the season.
“I love this place,” Bell told NBC Sports’ Kim Coon. “That was a lot of fun. Qualifying here is very intense, and that’s certainly all we had. Felt really good in practice today. Race trim is what it’s all about. Week after week we keep coming to the racetrack with cars that are capable of racing for wins, and I’m ready to put it all together.”
Kyle Larson will start second with a lap of 179.826 mph. Martin Truex Jr. will line up third with a lap of 178.767 mph. Chase Elliott (178.648 mph) and Tyler Reddick (178.495 mph) will round out the top five.
MORE: Kansas starting lineup
Michael McDowell, the lone Ford driver in the top 10, qualified seventh with a lap of 178.271 mph. Austin Dillon reached the second round for the first time this season and qualified eighth with a lap of 178.200 mph.
Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs both hit the wall during practice. They were unable to make qualifying laps. Gibbs went to a backup car. Busch’s team worked on making repairs to the primary. They will both start from the rear of the field.
#NASCAR … Cars of Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs back in the garage during qualifying after both hit the wall after tire issues. Both teams are working to repair their cars for Sunday’s race. pic.twitter.com/ZsbHu7BLcO
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) September 9, 2023
William Byron reached the second round and qualified ninth with a lap of 177.778 mph. He was set to drop to the rear of the field after the team replaced a broken suspension piece. However, NASCAR determined that this was a parts failure instead of an unapproved adjustment. He will be able to keep his starting position.
The green flag for Sunday’s race is scheduled to wave at 3:20 p.m. ET on USA Network. Countdown to Green starts at 2:30 p.m. on USA Network. Pre-race coverage continues at 3 p.m. on USA Network.
