It’ll be a Joe Gibbs Racing front row for Sunday’s Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, with Christopher Bell winning the pole over teammate Martin Truex Jr.
Bell edged the No. 19 of Truex for the top spot by 0.007 seconds.
The driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Cup Series is also the most recent winner at the 1.058-mile oval. For Bell, it was his first pole of the season and the fifth of his Cup Series career.
“It’s crazy how much difference the temperature can change the cars,” Bell said. “These things are really sliding around. You’re on the edge here for sure.”
Three Ford Mustangs followed suit in the lineup, with last week’s pole winner at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Aric Almirola, in third. Reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano qualified fourth with Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney rounding out the top-five.
“In practice I couldn’t get the car to turn the way I needed it to,” Almirola said. “We made some adjustments, but the entry in practice was bad into [turn] one and loose into turn three. The adjustments for our qualifying trim made a huge difference. The lap in round one was dialed in, and I hit all of my marks and felt like we had a chance at the pole.
“In round two, I missed turn one a bit but still pulled together a fast lap. From where we started in practice to where we ended up in qualifying was a major step in the right direction. It’s crucial to qualify well here and give yourself a shot to run up front and stay up front. This is a track we have had circled all year, and we always know we have the opportunity to win. I’m glad we’ve given ourselves an opportunity starting third tomorrow. We just have to execute and be perfect all day.”
23XI Racing had two drivers advance to the final round of qualifications, with Tyler Reddick in sixth and Bubba Wallace placing eighth.
Last week’s winner William Byron was one of two Chevrolet’s to make the final round (seventh), while Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch encountered trouble during his last run.
Busch spun and hit the outside wall in turn one during his flying lap, sustaining rear-end damage. The two-time Cup Series champion will start 10th.
After pacing the practice session earlier in the day, Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell qualified 17th.
Ross Chastain will be mired in the back of the field on Sunday after qualifying his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet in 31st position.
Ty Gibbs got loose off turn two during his qualifying run, negating the rookie driver to 36th in the starting lineup. Gibbs is only 26 markers out of 16th place on the playoff grid.