Van Gisbergen Dominates Chicago: Pole Position in the Cup Series

Shane van Gisbergen Dominates Qualifying in Chicago

Regarding the NASCAR street course in downtown Chicago, history is written with one name: Shane van Gisbergen. The 36-year-old New Zealander has secured the pole position for Sunday’s Grant Park 165, once again demonstrating his prowess on this challenging track. 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. “Practice wasn’t so good for us, but when we went out to qualify, the car felt really good,” van Gisbergen commented. “We did two pretty good laps.” Next to van Gisbergen on the front row will be Michael McDowell, who secured second place with a speed of 87.879 mph. Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, and Chase Briscoe completed the top five.

Our car is at stake. Tomorrow will be a mix with the possible weather coming in and out. So there are many variables to go out and navigate.

Michael McDowell

Van Gisbergen, a three-time champion in Australia’s Supercars series, also took the victory in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, starting from the pole. He overtook Connor Zilisch in the final laps.

I learned a lot in the Xfinity Series car this morning, and that gives you a big advantage for the Cup car. I think it’s great to race in both cars, it certainly helps.

Shane van Gisbergen

Just two years ago, van Gisbergen achieved a historic victory in the first edition of the NASCAR race in downtown Chicago, which was held in the rain. Making the most of his extensive experience in street racing, he became the first driver to win in his Cup debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race in Daytona in 1963.

He also won the Chicago Xfinity Series stop last year and the first stage in the Cup race before being affected by an accident. Katherine Legge made history by becoming the first woman to qualify for the Cup race in downtown Chicago, clocking a lap of 85.744 mph, leaving Corey Heim out of the competition.

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 to do because of that, but we had to keep pushing to get into the show. I am very proud of this team and I am really looking forward to tomorrow.

Katherine Legge