Shane van Gisbergen has taken another significant step forward in his NASCAR Cup Series journey, clocking his best-ever qualifying result on an oval with 11th place at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway ahead of the Brickyard 400.
In 2024, Van Gisbergen finished 4th on the Indianapolis oval in the Xfinity Series after qualifying 23rd, so he has been known to be strong at the iconic oval.
Driving the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro for Trackhouse Racing, the Kiwi set a flying lap at 181.485 mph, placing him just 0.455 seconds off pole position in a highly competitive session. He’ll start from the sixth row alongside veteran Kyle Busch in the Richard Childress Racing #8 car.
This marks van Gisbergen’s first time qualifying inside the top 12 on an oval in the Cup Championship Series, bettering his previous best efforts of 17th at Talladega during wildcard appearances in 2023.
Although he joked last weekend that his best oval qualifying came when rain washed out the session at Dover which resulted in him starting sixth on the grid, this performance proves he’s truly making strides.
At the sharp end of the field, it was a Toyota whitewash of the top five, led by Indiana native Chase Briscoe in the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing entry. Briscoe snatched pole by a razor-thin 0.013s margin over Bubba Wallace, posting a time of 49.136s (182.749 mph).
Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, and Ty Gibbs completed the Toyota domination, while William Byron was the top Chevrolet driver in sixth for Hendrick Motorsports.
Briscoe was visibly emotional after securing pole at his home track.
“I thought I was going to lose it a couple of times, but I was able to hold onto it,” he said.
“I’m holding back tears. This is such a special moment for me. Even hearing the crowd as I got the pole is just super cool. Hopefully, I can keep it up there. That’s the one that we want to win.
“Just being from literally 70 miles down the road and coming here as a kid and just dreaming of being able to come to this place, sitting in the same grandstands as the fans are, I dreamed of being on the other side of the fence, and now to do that is just unbelievable.”
The session wasn’t without drama. Denny Hamlin, who had topped the earlier practice session, lost control coming out of Turn 2 and crashed hard into the inside wall. Fortunately, he walked away uninjured.
“I saw that other guys had issues there and the wind picked up, which made for some pretty tight conditions off of Turn 2,” Hamlin explained.
“And so if you’re not pointing correctly, it’s not going to turn. I wasn’t pointing correctly.”
As a result of the incident, Hamlin will start from the back of the grid in 39th position.
For van Gisbergen, the upward momentum continues as he adapts to the demands of oval racing in America’s top tier. His performance at Indianapolis is yet another indication that he’s starting to find his footing in the world of stock cars.
Header Image: David Jensen / Getty Images
