MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Christopher Bell put forth an early challenge at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday with a lap that stood up against all comers in qualifying for Sunday’s Cook Out 400 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The 17th driver to make a run during time trials, Bell navigated the venerable 0.526-mile track in 19.718 seconds (96.034 mph) and waited as the 21 drivers who followed took their respective shots at the standard he set.

No one was up to the task, and Bell had his first Busch Light pole award of the season in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota — also his first at Martinsville and the 14th of his career.

Chase Elliott came closest to matching Bell’s lap. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet covered the distance in 19.735 seconds (95.951 mph), just 0.003 seconds faster than teammate and third-place qualifier Alex Bowman (95.937 mph).

Despite turning the second-fastest lap in Saturday afternoon’s practice, Bell wasn’t optimistic about his chances for the pole.

“I was kind of down in the dumps after practice (because of the position in the qualifying order),” Bell said. “But that was definitely the best qualifying session I’ve ever felt out of my car at Martinsville. It was just easy.

“I went out there and the car just had so much grip,” Bell continued. “I’m really proud of this (No.) 20 team. They’ve been working hard on this Martinsville package. We’ll see what happens (Sunday), but obviously, starting up front will be a big help.”

Kyle Larson, last Sunday’s winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway, qualified fourth at 95.854 mph. Bell’s teammate, five-time Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin, was fifth at 95.840 mph.

Chris Buescher, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and defending race winner William Byron filled out the rest of the top 10 on the grid.

Casey Mears, whose No. 66 Ford failed inspection twice before qualifying, will start 37th in his first Cup Series race since 2019.

–By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.