BRISTOL, Tenn. – NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Christopher Bell came back down to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Thursday evening and promptly scored the pole for the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Bell, subbing for the ailing Harrison Burton in the No. 51 Hunt Brothers Pizza Toyota, turned a lap of 15.248 seconds (125.839 mph) around the .533-mile concrete oval in the third and final round of qualifying to earn his sixth Truck Series pole in his first start of the season.
It’s also his first pole in three series starts at Bristol. He’ll look for his first win in Thursday night’s race.
“This Hunt Brothers Tundra is just really fast, man. This crew has done a really great job with it,” Bell told SPEED SPORT. “Obviously, we’re bummed that Harrison can’t be here, because this is a place that he’s got a lot of laps here and I know he was really looking forward to this one, but it’s really cool to give him something to smile about and hopefully we can convert it into a victory later tonight.”
Bell was third and first during the two Xfinity Series practices earlier in the day as well.
“Having more track time definitely helps,” he noted. “The biggest key to tonight’s race is going to be how you execute, though. It would be really cool to win here, and I think we’ve got a truck that can do it. Restarts are always tricky at Bristol … even the initial start can be tough, but if we get that part right, then hopefully we can keep this thing up front and go get ourselves a sword tonight.”
ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes will join Bell on the front row for Thursday night’s race, turning a lap of 15.268 seconds (125.675 mph) in his No. 41 FEI World Equestrian Games Toyota on his final run.
Opening round leader John Hunter Nemechek and Johnny Sauter, who was fastest in the second round, will share the second row of the grid. Grant Enfinger completed the top five on the speed charts.
Parker Kligerman, Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland, Jesse Little, Ross Chastain, Justin Haley and Chad Finley filled out the dozen trucks who advanced through all three knockout rounds.
Stewart Friesen, who is on the cusp of his first Truck Series playoff berth, was the first driver who failed to make the final round of qualifying and will start 13th in the No. 52 We Build America Chevrolet.
Other notables eliminated in the second knockout round included four-time season winner Brett Moffitt (14th), playoff hopefuls Cody Coughlin (15th), Dalton Sargeant (16th) and Myatt Snider (17th), and two-time Truck Series champion Matt Crafton (18th).
Codie Rohrbaugh was the first driver eliminated in the opening round of qualifying, turning a lap of 121.960 mph in his No. 9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet.
However, the notable name among the drivers eliminated in round one was Stefan Parsons, the son of FOX Sports analyst Phil Parsons.
Though he had to take an owner points provisional, Parsons will make his Truck Series debut for Premium Motorsports on Thursday night, starting 30th in the No. 15 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet.
“Our truck was just really tight,” Parsons said. “When we’d get to the center of the corner, it would just chatter the right-front tire all the way off the exit. I think if we can get it turning better, we’ll have something when the lights come on. I think we have good race pace. I’m just thankful to be here.
“I was worried for a second,” he added. “It’s a lot of relief to be in the field though. It’s an honor to be here and hopefully we can make the most of this opportunity once the green flag waves tonight.
With 37 trucks on the property vying for 32 starting spots, Gray Gaulding, Timothy Peters, Josh Reaume, Norm Benning and Jennifer Jo Cobb all failed to qualify for Thursday night’s race.
To view complete qualifying results, advance to the next page.
