Christopher Bell will have a chance at redemption going into the second playoff race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was in pole position for the last race in Darlington and had expectations of winning the event and securing his place in the last 12. However, things did not go to plan as he made a mistake at the beginning of the race, which cost him track position and a disappointing P23.

The JGR driver now has a second chance to make amends for Darlington at Kansas Speedway. On Saturday, Bell qualified on pole position for the next NASCAR Cup Series race. This time, the No. 20 Toyota Camry will look to get the best start possible and keep his lead as long as he can. After his lackluster performance last week, Bell will be under a lot of pressure.

Christopher Bell sings his pit crew’s praises as he looks to right Darlington’s wrongs at Kansas Speedway

Christopher Bell has made it clear that he will take full advantage of the opportunity that he has earned in Kansas. In the post-qualifying press conference, JGR No. 20 said that last week was a repercussion of his shortcoming and that he would control everything that he could to get the best possible result.

“Last week, I made a mistake early in the race that ruined our finish and that was me not doing my job. I’m glad I get another opportunity this week to control what I can control and get the best finish I can out of it,” Bell said.

Pole position is an important and highly advantageous place to be in any form of motor racing. Bell understands the advantage that comes with being the fastest man in the qualifying session. The team that wins the pole usually gets the number one pit stall, which is a huge plus.

Christopher Bell was full of his pit crew’s praise and said that he was confident heading into Kansas Speedway that his crew would do a good job.

“They’ve proven themselves throughout the entire season and I didn’t give them a fair opportunity last week to show what they’re made of. I’m glad we get another no. 1 pit stall opportunity and I’m confident that myself and the pit crew will do a much better job this week,” the JGR man added.

It’s an interesting starting grid that will get the action underway at Kansas on Sunday. While some of the usual suspects do line up within the top 10, there are a few surprise names here and there that can spruce things up.

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Qualifying at Kansas ends with an interesting Top 10

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Christopher Bell starts in pole position, followed by the #5 of the Darlington race winner, Kyle Larson. There is no question that the JGR and HMS men will have a close battle as soon as they get underway. Both Bell and Larson will have their teammates right behind them to push them ahead, so it promises to be an exciting start.

Regular-season champion Martin Truex Jr. will line up third, followed by Chase Elliott. While the former is in the playoffs and will be looking to win, Elliott’s job will first be to push Larson into the lead of the race if he needs it. The 27-year-old might not have made it to the playoffs, but he is still driving for the owner’s title, and he will look to right his wrongs in Rock Hendrick’s eyes.

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who finished second in Darlington, will start fifth, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain. Both drivers are in the playoffs, so they will have a tight battle when the race starts.

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Indy winner Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon, William Byron, and Bubba Wallace finish off a dynamic top 10, all of whom will be fighting tooth and nail for track position at the start of the race.

There’s no doubt that the Kansas Speedway will deliver a fantastic race to fans on Sunday. With the playoffs only beginning, drivers will look to gain as much track position as possible to score as many points as possible so that they are not among the four that will be eliminated after two more races.