Bell, the last of the 10 cars to make a qualifying attempt in the final round on Saturday, just edged Kyle Larson with an average lap speed of 186.271 mph.
The pole is the sixth of the season for Bell, with four of them now coming in the playoffs. However, he has yet to be able to translate one of them into a victory.
A win for Bell in Sunday’s race would lock him into the Championship 4 at Phoenix in two weeks for the second consecutive season.
“It was flat-lined – I never lifted all the way around,” Bell said of his lap. “I think he didn’t either, so it comes down to horsepower I guess. This TRD Camry had plenty of horsepower. I’m glad to put this car back on the pole.
“It changes a lot (during the race). We saw during practice there was a lot of grip to take off and then it started losing grip as the run went on. It’s going to be about who can keep the most in their car over the period of the run and move around and find it on the race track.
“Las Vegas is a fun track because you can pretty much run from the wall to the white line and everywhere in between.”
Larson ended up second quick at 186.271 mph while series leader William Byron was third. Martin Truex Jr. and Chris Buescher rounded out the top five.
Completing the top-10 starting lineup are Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Ross Chastain.
In all, six of the remaining eight playoff drivers qualified in the top-10.
| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Interval | Mph | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  C. BELLJoe Gibbs Racing |
20 | Toyota | 1 | 28.980 | 186.335 | ||
| 2 | K. LARSONHendrick Motorsports |
5 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.010 | 0.010 | 186.271 | |
| 3 | W. BYRONHendrick Motorsports |
24 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.024 | 0.014 | 186.181 | |
| 4 | M. TRUEX JRJoe Gibbs Racing |
19 | Toyota | 1 | +0.090 | 0.066 | 185.759 | |
| 5 | C. BUESCHERRFK Racing |
17 | Ford | 1 | +0.104 | 0.014 | 185.669 | |
| 6 | K. BUSCHRichard Childress Racing |
8 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.113 | 0.009 | 185.612 | |
| 7 | B. WALLACE23XI Racing |
23 | Toyota | 1 | +0.140 | 0.027 | 185.440 | |
| 8 | T. REDDICK23XI Racing |
45 | Toyota | 1 | +0.149 | 0.009 | 185.382 | |
| 9 | J. LOGANOTeam Penske |
22 | Ford | 1 | +0.167 | 0.018 | 185.268 | |
| 10 | R. CHASTAINTrackHouse Racing |
1 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.183 | 0.016 | 185.166 |
Round 1 / Group A
Larson bolted to the top of the first group with an average lap speed of 186.438 mph.
Busch ended up second fastest at 185.109 mph while Wallace was third at 185.109 mph.
Truex and Reddick also advanced to the final round of qualifying.
“If we can get that better, we’ll be able to improve a few spots,” Truex said. “Definitely got to hit the right marks and try to hold it wide open.”
Among those who failed to move on from Group A were Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski.
Chase Elliott, who wrecked in practice, did not participate in qualifying.
| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Interval | Mph | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K. LARSONHendrick Motorsports |
5 | Chevrolet | 1 | 28.964 | 186.438 | ||
| 2 | B. WALLACE23XI Racing |
23 | Toyota | 1 | +0.208 | 0.208 | 185.109 | |
| 3 | K. BUSCHRichard Childress Racing |
8 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.208 | 0.000 | 185.109 | |
| 4 | M. TRUEX JRJoe Gibbs Racing |
19 | Toyota | 1 | +0.225 | 0.017 | 185.001 | |
| 5 | T. REDDICK23XI Racing |
45 | Toyota | 1 | +0.246 | 0.021 | 184.868 | |
| 6 | A. BOWMANHendrick Motorsports |
48 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.274 | 0.028 | 184.691 | |
| 7 | A. DILLONRichard Childress Racing |
3 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.298 | 0.024 | 184.540 | |
| 8 | A. CINDRICTeam Penske |
2 | Ford | 1 | +0.353 | 0.055 | 184.193 | |
| 9 | B. KESELOWSKIRFK Racing |
6 | Ford | 1 | +0.382 | 0.029 | 184.011 | |
| 10 | A. ALLMENDINGERKaulig Racing |
16 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.393 | 0.011 | 183.943 | |
| 11 | E. JONESLegacy Motor Club |
43 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.432 | 0.039 | 183.698 | |
| 12 |
C. HOCEVARLegacy Motor Club
|
42 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.497 | 0.065 | 183.293 | |
| 13 | C. LAJOIESpire Motorsports |
7 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.663 | 0.166 | 182.266 | |
| 14 | T. GILLILANDFront Row Motorsports |
38 | Ford | 1 | +0.735 | 0.072 | 181.824 | |
| 15 | R. STENHOUSE JRJTG Daugherty Racing |
47 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.753 | 0.018 | 181.714 | |
| 16 | H. BURTONWood Brothers Racing |
21 | Ford | 1 | +1.067 | 0.314 | 179.814 | |
| 17 | B. POOLERick Ware Racing |
15 | Ford | 1 | +1.228 | 0.161 | 178.855 | |
| 18 | C. ELLIOTTHendrick Motorsports |
9 | Chevrolet | 0 |
Round 1 / Group B
Bell, who has been among the top performing qualifiers in the playoffs, led the way with an average lap speed of 186.606 mph – the fastest lap of the day at the time.
Byron was second quick at 186.593 mph while Buescher was third at 186.175 mph.
Also advancing to the final round of qualifying from Group B were Chastain and Logano.
Among those who failed to move on were Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.
Daniel Suarez, who also wrecked in practice, did not participate in the qualifying session.
| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Interval | Mph | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C. BELLJoe Gibbs Racing |
20 | Toyota | 1 | 28.938 | 186.606 | ||
| 2 | W. BYRONHendrick Motorsports |
24 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.002 | 0.002 | 186.593 | |
| 3 | C. BUESCHERRFK Racing |
17 | Ford | 1 | +0.067 | 0.065 | 186.175 | |
| 4 | R. CHASTAINTrackHouse Racing |
1 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.076 | 0.009 | 186.117 | |
| 5 | J. LOGANOTeam Penske |
22 | Ford | 1 | +0.084 | 0.008 | 186.066 | |
| 6 |
T. GIBBSJoe Gibbs Racing
|
54 | Toyota | 1 | +0.091 | 0.007 | 186.021 | |
| 7 | R. BLANEYTeam Penske |
12 | Ford | 1 | +0.219 | 0.128 | 185.204 | |
| 8 | A. ALMIROLAStewart-Haas Racing |
10 | Ford | 1 | +0.276 | 0.057 | 184.843 | |
| 9 | D. HAMLINJoe Gibbs Racing |
11 | Toyota | 1 | +0.307 | 0.031 | 184.647 | |
| 10 | C. BRISCOEStewart-Haas Racing |
14 | Ford | 1 | +0.355 | 0.048 | 184.344 | |
| 11 | M. MCDOWELLFront Row Motorsports |
34 | Ford | 1 | +0.360 | 0.005 | 184.313 | |
| 12 | J. HALEYKaulig Racing |
31 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.389 | 0.029 | 184.131 | |
| 13 | K. HARVICKStewart-Haas Racing |
4 | Ford | 1 | +0.472 | 0.083 | 183.611 | |
| 14 | J. YELEYRick Ware Racing |
51 | Ford | 1 | +0.537 | 0.065 | 183.206 | |
| 15 | T. DILLONSpire Motorsports |
77 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.601 | 0.064 | 182.809 | |
| 16 | B. MCLEODLive Fast Motorsports |
78 | Chevrolet | 1 | +0.937 | 0.336 | 180.753 | |
| 17 | R. PREECEStewart-Haas Racing |
41 | Ford | 1 | +1.053 | 0.116 | 180.054 | |
| 18 |  D. SUAREZTrackHouse Racing |
99 | Chevrolet | 0 |
