Van Gisbergen Dominates Qualifying Ahead of Grant Park 165
Shane van Gisbergen solidified his status as a top contender in NASCAR’s road and street courses by securing the pole position for the Grant Park 165 in Chicago, posting a blistering lap of 88.338 mph (89.656 seconds). This marks the third pole of his career, following a victorious pole start in Mexico City last month.
“I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow; what a tune-up,” van Gisbergen stated, reflecting on his car’s performance after overcoming a lackluster practice session. He added, “The WeatherTech Chevy is really good. I’m a lucky boy; I’ve got some great cars today."
Following van Gisbergen, Michael McDowell qualified second at 87.879 mph, with Carson Hocevar and Tyler Reddick claiming third and fourth, respectively. The top five was rounded out by Chase Briscoe at 87.734 mph. Notably, Kyle Busch qualified sixth, and Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher followed in seventh and eighth.
Alex Bowman, the defending race winner, qualified 11th. Will Brown, in his second Cup Series start, impressed by securing 19th position as the fastest among Open competitors. Conversely, Bubba Wallace encountered significant difficulties and ended up 37th after multiple spins during qualifying.
Katherine Legge secured the final grid spot for the Open teams, despite a challenging qualifying run filled with wall kisses. "I tried my best to mess that qualifying up, honestly," Legge commented. “I think it was a lot of pressure… but I’m very proud of my team.”
Several notable drivers will start from the back, including William Byron and Chase Elliott, both sidelined due to practice crashes, and Denny Hamlin, who experienced an engine failure.
The Grant Park 165 is set to take place at 2 p.m. ET this Sunday, promising a thrilling race in the streets of Chicago.
