Christopher Bell doesn't have first pit stall at Las Vegas

Today at 06:25 AM

For the first time this season, the pole-winning team did not select the No. 1 pit stall for the Cup race.

Instead, pole-sitter Christopher Bell will pit from stall No. 6 in Sunday‘s playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after crew chief Adam Stevens passed on the first pit box.

It was an easy decision for Stevens.

"We‘ve had the pole a couple of times here and picked the No. 1 stall and just really struggled to get out of the box and felt like we were giving up time and giving up spots," Stevens told NBC Sports. "If you look historically, it‘s not uncommon for the pole-sitter not to pick No. 1 here."

…

Stevens said he didn‘t think the No. 1 pit stall held a significant advantage over the rest of the pit stalls because the "(pit exit) camera is pretty far away from pit stall 1 here. There‘s places we go where it‘s really close, like, you‘re barley moving when you trip the camera and this is one not that way. The advantage is already inherently smaller here and I just think that that box leaves a little bit to be desired."

Tyler Reddick, who qualified second, will pit in the No. 1 pit stall in Sunday‘s race (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC).

— NBC Sports —

For a larger image and / or PDF of the pit stalls, visit our Las Vegas Pit Stalls page.