By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
CHICAGO—Road course superstar Shane van Gisbergen pulled of the second qualifying double of his fledgling NASCAR career during Saturday’s time trials on the Chicago Street Course.
After securing the pole position for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race, Van Gisbergen blitzed the rest of the field on his final run for the top starting position in Sunday’s Grant Park 165 on the 2.2-mile, 12-turn street circuit (2 p.m. ET on TNT, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Van Gisbergen posted a respectable lap on his second run, only to see it surpassed by recent Pocono winner Chase Briscoe. But Van Gisbergen responded with a lap at 88.338 mph (89.656 seconds) to beat eventual second-place qualifier Michael McDowell (87.879 mph) by 0.468 seconds, a huge margin in the competitive Gen-7 environment.
The Busch Light Pole Award was Van Gisbergen’s first on the Chicago Street Course, his second this season and the third of his career. Last fall, he swept the Cup and Xfinity poles at the Charlotte Roval.
“I’m a lucky boy—I got some great cars today,” said the three-time Australian Supercars champion. “Xfinity pole, Cup pole—pretty special. Hopeful for the race tomorrow.
“Practice wasn’t that great, and I went out in qualifying, and the car felt really good … I learned a lot in the Xfinity car this morning, and that just gives you a great leg up for the Cup car.”
Carson Hocevar, McDowell’s Spire Motorsports teammate, will start third after a lap at 87.824 mph. Tyler Reddick claimed the fourth spot on the grid, followed by Briscoe, who was second fastest behind Van Gisbergen in the first of two qualifying groups.
Hocevar and Reddick are head-to-head opponents in the In-Season Challenge, with the second round to be contested in Sunday’s race.
Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs and Austin Dillon claimed the sixth through 10th starting positions respectively. Defending race winner Alex Bowman will start 11th.
There will be plenty of speed at both ends of the field. Denny Hamlin blew the engine in his No. 11 Toyota on his first practice lap and did not make a qualifying run. Neither did William Byron, who slammed the outside wall with less than a minute left in practice—after setting the fastest time in the session.
Chase Elliott also sustained damage to his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and did not qualify. Byron, Elliott and Hamlin will start 38th, 39th and 40th respectively on Sunday.
Bubba Wallace, facing an In-Season Challenge matchup against Bowman, spun twice and backed into a Turn 2 tire barrier during time trials and will start 37th.
Katherine Legge will be the first female driver to compete in the Chicago Street Race after knocking the unchartered car of Corey Heim out of the field late in the Group B session. Legge earned the 33rd spot on the grid with a lap at 85.744 mph.
