NASCAR: Why is Christopher Bell on pole at Fontana?

Christopher Bell didn’t win the Daytona 500 and doesn’t lead the NASCAR point standings. Why is he on pole for Sunday’s race at Fontana?

The second race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to take place on Sunday afternoon at Auto Club Speedway after Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session was rained out, as many had expected it would be.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell is set to start Sunday afternoon’s 200-lap Pala Casino 400, the final race at the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) Fontana, California oval, from the pole position behind the wheel of his No. 20 Toyota.

How did Bell, who did not win the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway last Sunday and does not lead the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, earn the pole position for a race that did not have any kind of qualifying session?

No, the starting lineup is not randomized. However, it is slightly more complicated than NASCAR race results and point standings.

When NASCAR returned from the unexpected 10-week hiatus caused by COVID-19-related restrictions in the spring of 2020, qualifying was canceled at the overwhelming majority of race tracks.

Eventually, NASCAR came up with a qualifying formula to set the starting lineup for each race, rather than going with group-based random draws.

There are four categories factored into this formula: driver’s finish in the most recent race, team owner’s (car number’s) finish in the most recent race, team owner’s (car number’s) position in the owner standings, and the rank of the driver’s fastest lap in the previous race.

Driver’s finish in the most recent race is weighted at 25%, as is team owner’s (car number’s) finish in the most recent race, meaning that for drivers who drive the same cars from race to race, this is effectively one category which is weighted at 50%.

Team owner’s (car number’s) position in the owner standings is weighted at 35%, and the rank of the driver’s fastest lap in the previous race is weighted at 15%.

Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is set to start alongside Bell on the front row in second place behind the wheel of his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet, and points leader Joey Logano is set to start in third behind the wheel of his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

A full starting lineup is available here.

Bell sits in fourth place in the standings after a third place finish in the Daytona 500. It was his fastest lap in that race which ultimately propelled him in front of Stenhouse, Logano, and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher (second in the standings) to land the number one starting spot for the Pala Casino 400.

The Pala Casino 400 is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Auto Club Speedway beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss the second race of the 36-race 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season!