Christopher Bell had the fastest car during NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying Saturday (March 9) or the IK9 Service Dog 200. Bell won the pole for the race at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Ariz with a lap at 133.973 mph in the final round. Bell was fastest during all three rounds of qualifying.
Bell most likely has advanced to the Xfinity Series playoffs following his Rinnai 250 victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Bell is confident he can win the IK9 Service Dog 200 as well.
Can @CBellRacing get back-to-back ?'s at @ISMRaceway?
He certainly believes he can. pic.twitter.com/47iLQPfeQU
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) March 9, 2019
Starting second in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet is Tyler Reddick. A week after he and Bell raced hard alongside each other at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which ultimately led to contact between the two of them, Reddick again had a fast car.
Bell noted the long run speed of his teammate Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Busch, who won the Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend, will start third in the iK9 Service Dog 200. Cole Custer and Michael Annett round out the top five.
Austin Cindric laid down the fastest lap during practice on Friday. He will start eighth in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.
Chase Briscoe nipped John Hunter Nemechek to advance to the final round of qualifying just as the clock expired to end Round No. 2. Despite getting eliminated, Nemechek remained optimistic in how his No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet is working. Briscoe will start 12th in the race, while Nemechek will start 13th.
Only 37 drivers are entered for the iK9 Service Dog 200, so nobody failed to qualify.
XFINITY SERIES IK9 SERVICE DOG 200 STARTING LINEUP
Coverage of the iK9 Service Dog 200 starts with NASCAR RaceDay – XFINITY Edition at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. The green flag should be displayed around 4:10.
Mark Kristl joined Frontstretch at the beginning of the 2019 NASCAR season. He is the site's ARCA Menards Series editor. Kristl is also an Eagle Scout and a proud University of Dayton alum.