Michael McDowell claims that Las Vegas Pole; Bell to the 13th

Michael McDowell from Spire Motorsports took the Pole position for the seventh time in his career during the qualification on Saturday for the Pennzoil 400 on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It is the first Pole for Spire that has shown a strong improvement with an infusion of cash that was to be made by Dan Towriss Dan Towriss, Andretti Global in Indycar, and the Cadillac F1 team in 2026.

McDowell's previous six Poles all came in the 2024 season, his 17th in the Cup series.

Christopher Bell qualified in the 13th position when he searched for a fourth victory in a row. He was the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007, who won four races of the cup series in a row – a performance that only eight drivers achieved in the modern era of Nascar that started in 1972.

So far, the lackluster qualifying was not a deterrent for Bell when he had the 19th place before winning on the round circle of America and the 32nd place before winning in Atlanta.

Joey Logano begins on Sunday races together with McDowell on the front of the network and qualified for the third time in five races in the first two in Las Vegas. Austin Cindric starts third, while Kyle Busch, the native Las Vegas, begins fourth place.

Bell received a congratulations SMS from Johnson after every win in this three-race series, and he hopes that the seven-time Nascar champion hits will send the button again on Sunday.

“For me it is still the coolest in the world that I have Jimmie Johnson on my phone,” said Bell. “He spoke to me, he sent me an SMS after every previous victory. Every time I see that his name appears. I respect the devil from him. It is an honor to know that after the race he thinks of sending an SMS. It's so cool.”

Bell's three victories in a row is the longest winning streak of the Cup series since Kyle Larson won two twice in a row in 2021, and Bell is the first to make it in Nascars next gene car that was introduced in 2022.

The three victories this year will be binding his season high in 2022 and 2024. In Las Vegas, it is out of the question where he has five career-top 10 placements in 10 starts and three Poles. Bell, in his Toyota No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing, was the second place in Vegas' last two autumn.

He does not consider a fourth victory in a row, even when he dominated the first month of the season.

“One thing is certain: nothing that has happened in the past three weeks means something for this week,” said Bell. “Everything is still before me and nothing is stipulated, and we have to go out and appear there. This was a strong route for us in the past, but I only try to get in front of me and understand that it is a new week. It is a different race, and everyone will bring their best stuff to beat me.”

Perhaps the biggest threat to Bell's hot strips is Larson, who has won three times in the “Diamond in the Desert” since joining Hendrick Motorsports. Larson's first victory with Hendrick came in Las Vegas in March 2021, and he claimed two of the previous three races on the route and won the South Point 400 and the Pennzoil 400 in March 2024 in October 2023.

“I think since he came to Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, it was probably our best racetrack,” said Larson. “A few victories, I think two more second placements were really good during this time. The route is great, but to come to the city and have fun striping and everything it has to offer is probably one of my three favorite races.”

Logano is the youngest winner in Las Vegas when his victory at the South Point 400 in October carried him to his third Nascar title.

The media of the Associated Press and Field Level have contributed to this report.