DARLINGTON, S.C. — Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell will begin the NASCAR Cup Sequence playoffs up entrance after successful the pole on the Southern 500 on Saturday.

Bell took his fourth pole of the season and third up to now eight races. He turned a quick lap of 29.065 seconds (169.193 mph) at Darlington Raceway.

“It undoubtedly feels good,” Bell stated. “Darlington is a spot the place it is notoriously exhausting to move so being up entrance is sweet deal.”

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Bell begins beside JGR teammate Denny Hamlin, second quickest on the 1.366-mile egg-shaped structure.

In all, playoff drivers took the primary 9 qualifying spots. Tyler Reddick was third, Ryan Blaney fourth, then Brad Keselowski, defending collection champion Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell.

Aric Almirola, in tenth, is the primary non-playoff competitor within the lineup.

The 2 factors leaders and playoff seeds in William Byron and Martin Truex Jr. have been again of the pack. Byron, with 5 wins this season, will begin twenty third and Truex, with three victories, thirty first.

The remainder of the 16 playoff opponents are Kyle Busch, who’ll begin eleventh; Chase Briscoe, who’ll begin twelfth; Kyle Larson, who’ll begin 18th; Bubba Wallace, who’ll begin nineteenth; and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who’ll begin twenty fifth.

Ryan Preece, coming off a daunting crash at Daytona final week, begins thirty fourth within the 36-car area.