Christopher Bell was “down in the dumps” before taking NASCAR Martinsville pole

Christoper Bell felt he was “down in the dumps” before putting together a stunning lap in Martinsville qualifying to grab his first NASCAR Cup Series pole of 2025.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was the 17th driver to head out on track at the 0.5-mile Martinsville Speedway, setting a time of 19.718 in his #20 Toyota Camry.

Bell then had to patiently watch 20 other drivers have a go at pole position, but was ultimately able to hold on to the top spot by 0.017s from a trio of Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolets.

Bell had scored 13 pole positions in the Cup Series prior to this weekend’s qualifying, but he had never qualified inside the top five at Martinsville before 2025.

The 30-year-old admitted that he was pessimistic about his prospects for the session, as NASCAR’s new qualifying system for 2025 had placed him 17th out of 37 drivers in the starting order.

“I was kind of down in the dumps after practice [because of the position in the qualifying order],” he said. “But that was definitely the best qualifying session I’ve ever felt out of my car here at Martinsville. It was just easy. I've been really good at qualifying in the 20s.

“I went out there and the car just had so much grip, it cut a really good lap. I’m really proud of this 20 team. They’ve been working hard to improve our Martinsville package. We’ll see what happens [Sunday], but regardless, starting up at the front will be a big help.”

Pole position in qualifying means Bell will have the option of taking the number one spot on the pit road, which is important due to its proximity to the pit exit.

“I'm excited about it. It was funny [that] I was sitting in the car and looking at the number one pitstop, and I said, ‘man, that would be nice, the yellow line is there’.”

The 2025 Cup Series schedule features two visits to Martinsville, with the Virginia track also hosting the penultimate round of the season during the crucial playoff phase.

As such, Bell said it is important for JGR to ensure its car does well around the famous short track.

The Oklahoma native has already scored three wins this year following his three-peat across Atlanta, Austin and Phoenix races.

“I'm super excited about the opportunity ahead of us,” he said. “I would love to get win number four tomorrow.

“It's really about taking notes and making sure that we are improving on our Martinsville package and we are ready when we come back in the fall.

“We know that this is a super, super important race track for us and everyone in the Cup Series, especially when you get in the playoffs.

“We are doing everything we can to make sure we are ready for fall time.”