Following the postponement of both the Cup and Xfinity Series test sessions due to heavy rain, Christopher Bell will begin from the pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at Auto Club Speedway.

Bell, who placed third in previous weekend’s season-opening Daytona 500, will begin from the front row in Sunday’s Pala Casino 400 as per the series’ rules.

Bell, a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 20 Toyota, had had trouble in his past two appearances at the 2-mile speedway.

In 2020, Bell’s first year, his day was cut short when a jack bolt pierced through the radiator of his vehicle. The year before, Bell began 19th and quickly moved up to 13th before experiencing a water pressure issue. He was brought in by the team to add water and blow out the vents.

After finishing Stage 1, Bell spun out in Stage 2, and the car overheated, ending Bell’s day in 36th place.

“I really enjoy Fontana the race track but it hasn’t liked me back,” Bell said. “Statistically it is one of my worst race tracks, but I really enjoy the challenge of it and the layout of it.

“Hopefully we have a good showing this time.”

Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who will have his perfect start since starting second in the 2021 Bristol Dirt Race, will begin beside Bell on the first row.

The last racer to win both the Daytona 500 and the second race of the season a week later was Matt Kenseth in 2009. The only other racer to start a year with back-to-back victories was Jeff Gordon in 1997.

Third on the starting lineup will be Joey Logano, followed by fourth by Alex Bowman, and fifth by Chris Buescher.

A.J. Allmendinger, Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, and Kevin Harvick round out the top ten.

Kyle Larson, the race winner last year, will start 15th.

According to NASCAR, the Xfinity Series race will still attempt to take place today “This afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race remains on schedule. NASCAR will continue to monitor the forecast. Stay tuned for updates regarding today’s race.”

Pos.	Car No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
2	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG-Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet
3	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford
4	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
5	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford
6	16	AJ Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet
7	99	Daniel Suarez	Trackhouse Racing team	Chevrolet
8	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing team	Chevrolet
9	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford
10	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford
11	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Ford
12	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet
13	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
14	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
15	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
16	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford
17	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford
18	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota
19	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford
20	42	Noah Gragson	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet
21	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
22	15	JJ Yeley	Rick Ware Racing	Ford
23	54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
24	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford
25	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
26	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
27	41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford
28	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
29	31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet
30	78	BJ McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet
31	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford
32	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
33	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
34	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet
35	45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota
36	77	Ty Dillon	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet

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Nascar, NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity, Daytona 500, Christopher Bell, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing