Shane van Gisbergen earns Busch Light Pole Award in Chicago
Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images
CHICAGO, Ill.—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).
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.
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.
ALL FOUR HENDRICK CARS WILL START FROM THE REAR AT CHICAGO
By NASCAR.com
CHICAGO, Ill. - William Byron posted the fastest time in Group 1 practice, but with less than two minutes remaining, the No. 24 machine hit the outside wall in Turn 10. In an interview with truTV, Byron explained that he carried too much speed into the corner and consequently suffered heavy left-rear damage. Byron did not turn a lap in qualifying as the team repaired its primary car.
In Group 2 practice, Chase Elliott hit the wall in the short chute between Turns 3 and 4, just after the long back straightaway and past a heavy braking zone. He suffered left-side damage and, like Byron, did not turn a qualifying lap.
Alex Bowman hit the wall and suffered suspension damage later in Group 2 practice. The No. 48 car turned a qualifying lap to better pit selection and posted the 11th-fastest time, but the team elected to repair the car before Sunday’s 75-lap race.
Kyle Larson qualified 14th but sustained damage during his run. Like Bowman, the No. 5 team chose to repair the car and forfeit starting position.
Byron, Elliott and Larson own the top three spots in Cup Series points with five combined victories this season, including a win last weekend at EchoPark Speedway (formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway) for Elliott. Bowman, the defending winner in Chicago, is 12th in points and still needs a win to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin will also start from the rear after an apparent blown engine in the opening moments of practice.
NASCAR Cup Series
Starting Line Up by Row
Chicago Street Race
Grant Park 165
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 7/5/2025 @ 03:29 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Shane Van Gisbergen 07/02/23 2:50:48 60.281
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 88 Shane Van Gisbergen # WeatherTech Chevrolet 89.656 88.338
2 71 Michael McDowell DePaul Chevrolet 90.124 87.879
Row 2: 3 77 Carson Hocevar Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 90.180 87.824
4 45 Tyler Reddick Jordan Brand Toyota 90.227 87.779
Row 3: 5 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 90.273 87.734
6 8 Kyle Busch Slurpee Chevrolet 90.371 87.639
Row 4: 7 60 Ryan Preece BuildSubmarines.com Ford 90.534 87.481
8 17 Chris Buescher Body Guard Ford 90.544 87.471
Row 5: 9 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 90.627 87.391
10 3 Austin Dillon Breztri Chevrolet 90.719 87.303
Row 6: 11 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 90.783 87.241
12 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 90.785 87.239
Row 7: 13 20 Christopher Bell CRAFTSMAN Racing For A Miracle Toyota 90.836 87.190
14 5 Kyle Larson Valvoline Chevrolet 90.845 87.181
Row 8: 15 6 Brad Keselowski Kroger/Blue Buffalo Ford 90.846 87.181
16 16 AJ Allmendinger Celsius Chevrolet 90.861 87.166
Row 9: 17 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Dutch Boy Ford 90.886 87.142
18 99 Daniel Suarez Jockey Chevrolet 90.910 87.119
Row 10: 19 13 Will Brown Mobile X Chevrolet 91.045 86.990
20 34 Todd Gilliland Grillo's Pickles Ford 91.075 86.961
Row 11: 21 35 Riley Herbst # Lucy Toyota 91.171 86.870
22 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Apple Chevrolet 91.205 86.837
Row 12: 23 41 Cole Custer Haas/Andy's Ford 91.296 86.751
24 4 Noah Gragson Rasmussen Air & Gas Energy Ford 91.335 86.714
Row 13: 25 42 John Hunter Nemechek Dollar Tree Toyota 91.359 86.691
26 38 Zane Smith Vermeer Midwest Ford 91.380 86.671
Row 14: 27 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 91.516 86.542
28 7 Justin Haley Gainbridge Chevrolet 91.604 86.459
Row 15: 29 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 91.650 86.416
30 33 Austin Hill(i) United Rentals Chevrolet 91.663 86.403
Row 16: 31 66 Josh Bilicki(i) PureKick Ford 91.989 86.097
32 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Rate Chevrolet 92.146 85.951
Row 17: 33 78 Katherine Legge e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet 92.368 85.744
34 43 Erik Jones AdventHealth Toyota 92.541 85.584
Row 18: 35 51 Cody Ware Arby's New Angus Cheesesteak Ford 92.681 85.454
36 10 Ty Dillon Sea Best Chevrolet 93.313 84.876
Row 19: 37 23 Bubba Wallace McDonald's Toyota 104.783 75.585
38 24 William Byron All-Pro Auto Reconditioning Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
Row 20: 39 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
40 11 Denny Hamlin Progressive Toyota 0.000 0.000
Did Not Qualify: #67 Corey Heim(i)
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 17 1 Ford 13 0
Toyota 10 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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