CHICAGO — Road-course superstar Shane van Gisbergen pulled off the second qualifying double of his NASCAR career during Saturday’s time trials on the Chicago Street Course.
After securing the pole position for Saturday’s 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, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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Van Gisbergen posted a respectable lap on his second run, only to see it surpassed by Pocono Raceway 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.
The Busch Light Pole Award was van Gisbergen’s first on the Chicago Street Course, his second this season (Mexico City) and the third of his career. Last fall, he swept the Cup and Xfinity poles at the Charlotte Motor Speedway 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 taking place on the same Chicago streets.
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.
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.
William Byron, EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) winner Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin will start 38th, 39th and 40th, respectively.
Katherine Legge will be the first female driver to compete in the Chicago Street Race after knocking 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.
Bubba Wallace paces eventful practice session
23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace turned the fastest lap in practice, a session split between two groups for roughly 25 minutes each. Wallace turned a lap of 87.080 mph in Group 2, besting William Byron (87.027) out of Group 1.
Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs and Michael McDowell completed the top five. Carson Hocevar, Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10.
MORE: Practice results | Watch NASCAR video highlights
Denny Hamlin suffered an apparent engine issue in the opening moments of Group 1 practice, looping his car in Turn 5 after dropping fluid on the racing surface. The failure came on the up-to-speed lap and never posted a time.
In the final minutes of the opening group, Byron hit the outside wall in Turn 10, suffering damage to his left rear. In an interview with truTV, Byron explained that he simply carried too much speed through the corner.
During Group 2 practice, Elliott pancaked the outside wall in the short chute between Turns 3 and 4. Alex Bowman also suffered suspension damage.
The cars of Hamlin, Byron and Elliott went to the garage area, and none turned qualifying laps, meaning they will start from the rear in Sunday’s 75-lapper.
Contributing: Staff Report