Shane van Gisbergen has secured pole position for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series The Loop 110 on the streets of Chicago, continuing his street course dominance with a commanding performance in qualifying.
SVG set the benchmark early in the session, putting in a lap of 1:30.085 while the track was still quiet, a strategy that paid off handsomely.
Despite a flurry of late improvements from other contenders, van Gisbergen’s lap time proved untouchable.
After topping the earlier practice session, SVG backed up that pace with authority, ending the session over a quarter of a second ahead of his nearest challenger.
Austin Hill came the closest to dethroning the Kiwi, winding up just 0.262s shy to secure a front-row start alongside van Gisbergen. Hill was the only other driver to lap within half a second of the JR Motorsports Chevrolet.
The second row will feature the Haas Factory Team duo of Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed, with Mayer just edging Creed after both put in strong showings across their respective groups.
Jack Perkins, making his Xfinity Series debut for Joe Gibbs Racing, impressed with a solid run to qualify fifth. Defending series champion Justin Allgaier will start sixth.
The top ten is rounded out by William Sawalich (7th), Nick Sanchez (8th), last week’s race winner, Jesse Love (9th), and Sammy Smith (10th), who had briefly held the fastest lap before van Gisbergen’s early flyer.
One of the surprises from the session was Connor Zilisch, who had been second fastest in practice but will start from the rear of the field after crashing late in the session and failing to set a qualifying lap.
Van Gisbergen’s pole continues his impressive record on street courses, having won in Chicago on debut in 2023 (Cup Series) and again in 2024 (Xfinity). With a clear track ahead and proven pace, the Kiwi is now firmly the favourite heading into Sunday’s The Loop 110 as he looks to make it three wins in a row on the streets of Chicago.
Header Image: NASCAR Xfinity via X
