Yahoo Autos Bell hoping Kansas pole marks the end of his run of frustrations
Christopher Bell first acknowledged how nice it was to have success Saturday at Kansas Speedway after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series and then cracked a joke.
“My name’s Christopher for those who have forgotten,” Bell said.
The calendar turning to May was a welcome sight for Bell because April was not kind for him and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team. Bell’s best finish in four races was a 17th place at Texas Motor Speedway, a race in which he spun on his own and backed his Toyota into the Turn 4 wall. The last two weeks, at Talladega Superspeedway and Dover Motor Speedway, Bell failed to finish.
So, re-introducing himself to the media was in jest after basically being out of sight the last four weeks. But in qualifying for the AdventHealth 400, Bell was on top of the board at Kansas Speedway with his second consecutive pole at the racetrack.
Bell leads the Cup Series in poles in the Next Gen era.
“It’s nice to have success, but what happens on Saturday has no dictation of what happens Sunday,” Bell said. “We’ve got a great starting spot and we’re in prime position to win some stage points, but 267 laps is a long time. I fully believe that we can have a great race (Sunday) and fully believe I can be talking to all of you guys … after the race, too.”
Bell has a win (at Phoenix Raceway) and is locked into the postseason. The slide through April has no bearing on his playoff hopes, but the team is well aware of the points they have missed out on. Bell fell from sixth in the standings going into April to 17th ahead of the race at Kansas, which kicks off May.
“It just all has to come together and honestly at this point, I’m not looking for a win, guys,” Bell said. “I’m literally looking to see the checkered flag. I know my car has great capabilities. If I just see the checkered flag with a clean car, we’re going to have a solid day and that’s what we’re after.”
