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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Christopher Bell put four trying weeks of crashes and misfortune behind him Saturday, posting the fastest time in qualifying at Kansas Speedway to earn the pole for the third time in his last five NASCAR Cup Series visits to the track.

Bell turned a lap of 183.107 mph in his No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing, putting it on the front row alongside Ross Chastain for Sunday’s race. Noah Gragson and Kyle Larson will start a row behind them, while Kyle Busch qualified fifth.

“I’m not looking for a race win. I’m literally looking to see a checkered flag,” Bell said with a smile. “My car has great capability. If I can see the checkered flag, we have the possibility of having a great day.”

That checkered flag hasn’t been flying much for Bell lately.

He started the season with a third-place finish in the Daytona 500 and won at Phoenix a few weeks later, and he still had some momentum going at Circuit of the Americas and Richmond. But things began to go awry beginning at Martinsville, when he had some tire issues and finished 35th, and things haven’t gotten a whole lot better since.

He spun out at Texas and finished 17th. He got caught up in a crash at Talladega and was 38th. Last week at Dover, he followed a qualifying spin that left him starting 33rd by crashing in the race, leaving him to finish 34th.

“We’ve all just been in the dumps,” he said. “We have debriefs every Monday and after Martinsville it was like, ‘It’s fine. We’ll get them next week.’ After Texas, we’re like, ‘This sucks. It’s been two in a row. But we’re alright.’ It was bottom-of-the-barrel after Dover. But the good news and the positive out of it is that every time we go to the track, we know our cars are going to be fast, and we have the capability in our team.”

Ty Gibbs will start sixth on Sunday at Kansas. Austin Cindric will be in seventh, Michael McDowell eighth, Chase Elliott ninth and Chase Briscoe — who scrubbed the wall during his final qualifying run — will round out the top 10.

Defending race winner Denny Hamlin failed to advance to the final round and will start 14th. Neither of the cars he co-owns along with Michael Jordan, the No. 45 of Tyler Reddick and the No. 23 of Bubba Wallace, reached the final round, either; Reddick will start right behind in 14th and Wallace will start back in 23rd place.

Corey Heim, driving the No. 43 for another week as Erik Jones continues his recovery from a crash at Talladega, qualified 20th. He’ll start alongside Jimmie Johnson, who is back in the No. 84 for a second consecutive week.

William Byron will start near the back after hitting the wall hard during the first round of qualifying.

“We’ll have a lot of work to do, which I hate,” he said, “but our car is really good. We’re just going to have to pass a lot of cars.”

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2025 MLB All-Star Game: Everything you need to know

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2025 MLB All-Star Game: Everything you need to know

For the first time since the turn of the century, MLB’s All-Star Game will be held in Atlanta — the first ever at Truist Park since its opening in 2017.

All-Star festivities begin July 11 and culminate in the Midsummer Classic on July 15, as the National League looks to gain just its second win since 2013 while the American League aims to extend its dominance.

Following the first phase of All-Star voting, we know the top overall vote-getters in each league — Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani — automatically earned the starting spot at their positions, outfield and designated hitter, respectively. Now, the starting lineups have been revealed, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers leading the way each with three starters, followed by the Chicago Cubs with two. Four players named as starters — Cal Raleigh, Jacob Wilson, Ryan O’Hearn and Pete Crow-Armstrong — are first-time All-Stars.

Stay tuned, as we’ll have everything you need to navigate All-Star Week — from event schedules and full rosters to All-Star Game analysis.

Vote for the All-Star starters: All-Star Ballot 2025

Latest news and analysis

How does MLB All-Star voting work?

2025 MLB All-Star roster predictions, biggest debates

Which slugger will win the HR Derby? Breaking down the field

All-Star schedule

(All times ET)

July 2: MLB All-Star starters reveal at 7 p.m. on ESPN

July 6: MLB All-Star full rosters announced at 5 p.m. on ESPN

July 11: HBCU Swingman Classic at 8 p.m. on MLB Network

July 13: MLB Draft at 6 p.m. on ESPN and MLB Network

July 14: MLB All-Star Celebrity Softball Game at 1 p.m. on MLB Network

July 14: MLB Home Run Derby at 8 p.m. on ESPN

July 15: All-Star Red Carpet Show at 2 p.m. on MLB Network

July 15: MLB All-Star Game at 7 p.m. on FOX

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Slumping Mets bump Lindor from leadoff spot

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Slumping Mets bump Lindor from leadoff spot

NEW YORK — On the same day he got elected to start an All-Star Game for the first time, Francisco Lindor was dropped from the leadoff spot Wednesday night with the New York Mets in a major tailspin.

And the move paid off immediately.

After making 191 consecutive starts at the top of the lineup, Lindor batted second as the designated hitter in the finale of a day-night doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers and their rookie sensation, right-hander Jacob Misiorowski.

Brandon Nimmo returned to the leadoff slot and launched a grand slam off the hard-throwing Misiorowski in the second inning. Lindor followed with his 17th home run to give the Mets a 5-0 lead, then added an RBI single with two outs in the sixth as the Mets snapped a 4-game losing skid with a 7-3 victory.

A slumping Lindor went 0 for 4 as New York mustered only two hits during a 7-2 loss in the opener, leaving him 2 for 29 with one walk in his past seven games. Before the nightcap he was 8 for 60 (.133) in 15 games since June 15, and his batting average had plummeted from .289 with an .858 OPS on June 7 to .255 with a .766 OPS through Game 1 of the twinbill.

Nimmo was bumped up to leadoff, a role he was accustomed to before Mets manager Carlos Mendoza moved Lindor from third in the order to first in May 2024, citing the success the switch-hitter enjoyed atop the lineup earlier in his career with Cleveland.

The change led to Lindor breaking out of a prolonged slump and the Mets taking off following a miserable start. The star shortstop finished runner-up to Shohei Ohtani for NL MVP last year, and New York made a surprise playoff run before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.

Lindor and the Mets both got out of the gate much better this season, but New York (48-38) had lost four straight and 14 of 17 heading into the second game of the doubleheader.

In results announced Wednesday night, Lindor beat out fellow finalist Mookie Betts of the Dodgers in fan balloting to be the starting shortstop for the National League in the July 15 showcase at Truist Park in Atlanta.

It marked the first All-Star selection in five seasons with the Mets for Lindor, who signed a $341 million, 10-year contract with New York after being acquired from Cleveland in a January 2021 trade. He made four straight AL All-Star teams with Cleveland from 2016-19 – but never as a fan-elected starter.

The previous Mets shortstop to win a starting All-Star assignment was José Reyes in 2011.

Nine different players were among the 12 shortstops picked for the NL All-Star squad the past four years over Lindor, often a slow starter since joining the Mets. But he’s finished in the top nine in NL MVP voting each of the last three years, and won Silver Slugger awards in 2023 and 2024.

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Braves ace Schwellenbach has fractured elbow

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Braves ace Schwellenbach has fractured elbow

Braves ace Spencer Schwellenbach has a fractured pitching elbow, becoming the latest Atlanta starter sidelined with a long-term injury.

The Braves said on Wednesday that the right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list as part of a series of roster moves.

Schwellenbach said he felt tightness while pitching against Philadelphia on Saturday, when he threw 90 pitches and had a career-high 12 strikeouts. He allowed one run and three hits over seven innings.

He felt sore the following day and imaging Monday revealed a small fracture at the top of the elbow. Schwellenbach said he was told this was a freak accident and said he hopes to be back this season.

MLB.com reported that the second-year player won’t throw for at least four weeks.

Schwellenbach is 7-4 with a 3.09 ERA in 17 starts this season for the Braves, who already are without reigning Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale (rib cage), 2024 All-Star right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (shoulder) and hard-throwing rookie AJ Smith-Shawver (elbow).

The Braves also announced Wednesday that outfielder Jurickson Profar, who was suspended 80 games without pay on March 31 for violating MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, has been activated after his reinstatement. Veteran outfielder Alex Verdugo, batting .239 with 12 RBIs in 56 games, was designated for assignment to create a roster spot.

Atlanta also optioned right-hander Kevin Herget to Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday, reinstated right-hander Daysbel Hernandez from the IL and recalled left-hander Austin Cox from Gwinnett.

The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.

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