NASCAR at Kansas qualifying results, starting lineup: Christopher Bell wins his third career pole at track

Christopher Bell won the pole for the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday afternoon, posting a lap of 29.491 (183.107 MPH) in the final round to earn his first pole of the 2024 season and the 11th of his Cup career. Bell has now won a pole at Kansas in each of the last three seasons, following up on his previous poles in spring 2022 and fall 2023.

It had initially appeared as though the biggest threats for the pole would be out of the Hendrick Motorsports stable, most notably William Byron who was the fastest car in practice. But on his qualifying lap, Byron washed up the racetrack and hit the wall in turns 1 and 2, ruining his time and relegating him all the way to 36th starting spot for Sunday’s race. Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson were fastest in their respective qualifying groups, but neither were able to follow up on that speed in the final round.

Noah Gragson continued his hot streak in qualifying, setting a fast lap early in the final round and nearly winning his first Cup pole before being knocked off the top of the board by Bell’s lap. Gragson’s third place qualifying effort marks a new career-best starting spot for him, bettering his previous mark of fifth set just one week ago at Dover.

Erik Jones was medically cleared to return to racing this week following his back injury at Talladega, but his team elected to sit him an extra week as a precautionary measure while he continues to recover. Corey Heim will make his second straight start in the No. 43 Toyota for Legacy Motor Club, qualifying 20th right alongside NASCAR Hall of Famer and team co-owner Jimmie Johnson.

AdventHealth 400 starting lineup

1. #20 – Christopher Bell
2. #1 – Ross Chastain
3. #10 – Noah Gragson
4. #5 – Kyle Larson
5. #8 – Kyle Busch
6. #54 – Ty Gibbs
7. #2 – Austin Cindric
8. #34 – Michael McDowell
9. #9 – Chase Elliott
10. #14 – Chase Briscoe
11. #22 – Joey Logano
12. #17 – Chris Buescher
13. #19 – Martin Truex Jr.
14. #11 – Denny Hamlin
15. #45 – Tyler Reddick
16. #3 – Austin Dillon
17. #4 – Josh Berry (R)
18. #48 – Alex Bowman
19. #84 – Jimmie Johnson
20. #43 – Corey Heim
21. #47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
22. #77 – Carson Hocevar (R)
23. #23 – Bubba Wallace
24. #71 – Zane Smith (R)
25. #38 – Todd Gilliland
26. #12 – Ryan Blaney
27. #99 – Daniel Suarez
28. #7 – Corey LaJoie
29. #42 – John Hunter Nemechek
30. #6 – Brad Keselowski
31. #21 – Harrison Burton
32. #41 – Ryan Preece
33. #31 – Daniel Hemric
34. #33 – Austin Hill
35. #51 – Justin Haley
36. #24 – William Byron
37. #15 – Riley Herbst
38. #16 – Derek Kraus