Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell wins pole for Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway #Joe #Gibbs #Racing #driver #Christopher #Bell #wins #pole #Cup #race #Hampshire #Motor #Speedway

LOUDON, N.H. (AP) — Christopher Bell crashed NASCAR’s playoff field a year ago when he chased down Chase Elliott and pulled off a vital win at New Hampshire.

A year later, Bell returned to the track still out in front, only this time on the pole after he turned the fastest qualifying lap of 124.781 mph at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and will lead the field to green for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race.

Oh, Bell is still chasing in his No. 20 Toyota.

FILE - Martin Truex Jr. looks on prior to the NASCAR All-Star Cup Series auto race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Sunday, May 21, 2023, in North Wilkesboro, N.C. The 43-year-old Martin Truex Jr. has yet to make a decision -- at least, publicly -- on if he’ll return for another season at Joe Gibbs Racing or hang up the helmet and end a career that included the 2017 NASCAR championship.(AP Photo/Matt Kelley, File)

Martin Truex Jr. knows he has to make a decision soon on his race future. Truex could announcement his retirement or decide to return for another season with Joe Gibbs Racing.

FILE - Crew chief Chad Knaus grins as he leans on the race car of NEXTEL Cup Series points leader Jimmie Johnson prior to the season finale Ford 400 auto race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla., Nov. 19, 2006. Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and his former crew chief of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Chad Knaus headline a list of 15 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)

Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and his former crew chief of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Chad Knaus headline a list of 15 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

FILE - Red Bull reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia walks though the paddock at Albert Park ahead of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, on March 30, 2023. Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo will make a shock return to Formula One at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix. The eight-time Grand Prix winner was axed by McLaren at the end of last year. But he will now replace Nyck de Vries at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri for the rest of the year. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo will make a shock return to Formula One at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix.

William Byron speaks to the media after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 9, 2023, in Hampton, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

William Byron is back on top of NASCAR’s top series after his series-best fourth win of the season. The Hendrick Motorsports driver overcame a spin early in the second stage and won at Atlanta when the race was shortened by severe weather.

Only this season, instead of a playoff berth for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Bell is in the hunt for a regular-season crown that can only strengthen his position over the final 10 championship races of the season.

Instead of keeping tabs off the drivers on the fringe fighting for a spot in the 16-car field, Bell is fighting for the top spot with William Byron, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson and other late-season tested veterans.

“I’m sure that everyone that is in that bubble spot is doing the same thing, but here we are – a year later – and you are focusing on those three or four cars who are racing for the points,” Bell said Saturday. “One mistake or bad stage and you can lose a lot of points very quickly. William has a little bit of a gap on us but all it takes is one bad race and he is back there with us. We have a lot of cars that we are trying to keep up with and outrun. I would imagine it’s fun to stay on top of.”

New Hampshire is the start of the final seven-race stretch before the field is set and the 10-race sprint for the finish opens Sept. 3 at Darlington Raceway. Byron leads the Cup series with four wins and 10 other drivers — including Bell, Tyler Reddick and Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — are in with wins this season.

“You look at the 8 car, Kyle Busch, he’s right there in the hunt and he was buried in the tire barriers at Chicago at lap three and he made it out of it,” Bell said. “All of the teams inside the top-five are doing a really good job of maximizing the day even when they have adverse conditions, and we are seeing a great points race out of it.”

Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell hold the final five spots on points but nothing is guaranteed without a win. Bubba Wallace, AJ Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs and Austin Cindric are the next four out.

Harvick said his Stewart-Haas Racing team is building toward a win if it can escape a few bad breaks.

“You look back at Nashville, the car was so fast. I think we ran the leaders down by like four seconds, and then a tire went flat,” Harvick said. “We had that same thing at Phoenix and at a couple other places, and it just hasn’t worked out.”

Their run toward a checkered flag Sunday starts behind JGR.

JGR swept the front row in Saturday’s qualifying session with Bell joined by teammate Martin Truex Jr. Truex hit 124.752 mph in his No. 19 Toyota. But it was Ford drivers that took the next three spots with Aric Almirola followed by Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney.

Bell won his first pole of the season and fifth in 128 career Cup races.

Truex posted his eighth top-10 start of 2023 and his 19th in 30 career races at New Hampshire.

Bell has clearly mastered the track where he won Xfinity Series races in 2018, 2019 and 2021 and was second in the Cup race in 2021.

“I have one of the best race cars that I’ve had all year this weekend,” Bell said. “The 20 group needs to capitalize on that and capture as many points as we can. This is a pivotal race for the regular season championship.”