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Van Gisbergen qualifies in third for NASCAR debut

By Andrew Clarke

Date posted: July 2, 2023

Shane van Gisbergen has rocked the NASCAR world by topping practice and then qualifying in third place for the inaugural Chicago Street Race.

Driving the #91 car for Trackhouse racing, van Gisbergen was the fastest Chev in the field and left the Cup Series drivers with plenty to think about when the racing begins tomorrow at 7.30am AEST.

The huge crowd has also lapped up the Kiwi, and his limited edition gear sold out before race day.

Van Gisbergen sat in the pitlane for the first half of qualifying, his crew electing to send him out when the track cleared up a bit, but unfortunately, Chase Elliott, who was trying to keep up with him, clipped the inside wall at Turn 10 and then slammed into the outside wall bringing out the red flag before van Gisbergen had finished his lap.

He was on target for the fastest lap in the session, which would have got him into the final 10 and allowed him to keep his tyres fresh. The second lap he had to run was good enough to get into the final part of qualifying with the second-quickest time, but that extra lap took a little more out of the tyres.

He had two runs in the final session and topped the times early, but a demon run by Denny Hamlin (Toyota) on the chequered flap topped SVG. Also running a Toyota, Tyler Reddick bettered van Gisbergen at the end, giving the three-time Supercar champion a second-row start for the race.

He said after the session, he still had no expectations for the race but just wants to have fun.

With rain possible, the unique layout of the circuit with a mix of asphalt and concrete will be challenging, but van Gisbergen’s wet weather experience could bring him to the fore.

Chicago Street Race Qualifying

  1. #11 – D. Hamlin, Toyota 1:28.435
  2. #45 – T. Reddick, Toyota 1:28.479
  3. #91- S. Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet 1:28.588
  4. #20 – C. Bell, Toyota 1:29.224
  5. #99 – D. Suárez, Chevrolet 1:29.322
  6. #34 – M. Mcdowell, Ford 1:29.328
  7. #5 – K. Larson, Chevrolet 1:29.512
  8. #15- J. Button, Ford 1:29.571
  9. #22 – J. Logano, Ford 1:30.219
  10. #16 – A. J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet 1:30.283
    Shane van Gisbergen in his #91 NASCAR

    Shane van Gisbergen in his #91 NASCAR

    For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.

    Auto Action, Australia’s independent voice of motorsport.

    PODCAST: The latest episode of the Auto Action RevLimiter podcast is out now!

    The GIZ is fastest in NASCAR, qualifies in 3rd! Latest update from the streets of Chicago.

    Bruce Williams has a chat with Andrew Clarke who is on the ground in Chicago for Shane van Gisbergen’s so far stunning #NASCAR debut.

    Listen on your podcast app of choice or here on the Auto Action RevLimiter podcast.

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