Shane van Gisbergen Dominates Qualifying in Chicago
Regarding the NASCAR street circuit in downtown Chicago, there’s one name that stands out above all others: Shane van Gisbergen. The 36-year-old New Zealander secured pole position for Sunday’s Grant Park 165. Van Gisbergen clocked a time of 88.338 mph on a 2.2-mile circuit, which was made even more complicated by the high temperatures on Saturday.Michael McDowell, with a time of 87.879 mph, will share the front row with van Gisbergen. Carson Hocevar (87.824 mph), Tyler Reddick (87.779 mph) and Chase Briscoe (87.734 mph) completed the top five. McDowell is one of three drivers who have finished in the top ten in the first two races in downtown Chicago.The practice wasn’t the best for us, but when we went out to qualify, the car felt really good. We did two pretty good laps.
Shane van Gisbergen
Van Gisbergen, three-time champion in Australia’s Supercars, also won Saturday’s Xfinity Series race from the pole. He overtook Connor Zilisch in the final laps. Just two years ago, van Gisbergen achieved a historic victory in the first edition of the NASCAR race in downtown Chicago, marked by rain. Making the most of his extensive experience in street racing, he became the first driver to win in his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race in Daytona in 1963. He won the Chicago Xfinity Series stop last year and the first stage in the Cup race before being knocked out by a crash. Katherine Legge became the first woman to qualify for the Cup race in downtown Chicago.Our car is in the fight. Tomorrow will be a mix with the potential weather. So there are many variables to go out and navigate.
Michael McDowell
We would have been much faster, I think, if I hadn’t kept brushing the wall. I’ve given my team a lot of work because of that, but we had to keep pushing to get into the show. I am very proud of this team and I am looking forward to tomorrow.
Katherine Legge
