Shane van Gisbergen earned his first career pole position in the NASCAR Cup Series, beating playoff driver Tyler Reddick in qualifying at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
The three-time Supercars champion, who will move full time into Cup next season with Trackhouse Racing, will make his 12th Cup start. He is racing full time this season in the Xfinity Series and earned his third pole earlier for Saturday’s race at the Roval, which he enters trying to advance to the next round of the playoffs.
Driving a No. 13 Chevrolet fielded by Kaulig Racing (his Xfinity Series team, which also earned its first Cup pole), van Gisbergen turned a lap of 1 minute, 22.704 seconds (99.246 mph).
RESULTS: Click here for qualifying speeds at the Roval
STARTING LINEUPS: By row l By car number
“Thank you to this Kaulig Racing team,” van Gisbergen told NBC Sports’ Kim Coon. “This was a last-minute deal to come and race here. Thanks to (team owner) Matt (Kaulig) and the guys to let me run their car. This Chevy’s really quick. What an amazing day. I’m at a loss for words.”
Becoming the sixth foreign-born driver to win a Cup pole, van Gisbergen will attempt to earn his second Cup victory after winning his debut in the Chicago Street Race last year.
But he will need to be mindful about racing against 11 championship contenders who are trying to advance to the third round of the playoffs in Sunday’s cutoff race.
How to watch Sunday’s NASCAR Cup playoff race at Charlotte Roval
Four drivers will be eliminated from title contention Sunday.
“Just make sure we race clean,” van Gisbergen said. “I have to respect there’s a lot of playoff guys around me. I have to race respectfully. But we’re here to win the race. Hopefully, we have a good day.”
Reddick rebounded to qualify second after spinning on the frontstretch and causing a red flag when he was unable to refire his No. 45 Toyota during the second practice session for Group 1.
A.J. Allmendinger (van Gisbergen’s Kaulig teammate) qualified third.
Half of the 12 remaining playoff drivers heading into Sunday’s cutoff race made the top 10 final round of qualifying: Reddick, Joey Logano (starting fourth), Austin Cindric (fifth), Kyle Larson (sixth), Chase Elliott (seventh) and William Byron (10th).
The six Cup playoff drivers who failed to advance to the final round of qualifying: Christopher Bell (starting 12th), Daniel Suarez (13th), Alex Bowman (17th), Chase Briscoe (25th), Ryan Blaney (14th) and Denny Hamlin (18th).
Here’s the NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup for Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval:
ROW 1
1. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 13 Chevrolet, 1 minute, 22.704 seconds (99.246 mph)
2. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota, 1:22.761 (99.177)
ROW 2
3. AJ. Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet, 1:23.015 (98.874)
4. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, 1:23.166 (98.694)
ROW 3
5. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford, 1:23.262 (98.580)
6. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet, 1:23.330 (98.500)
ROW 4
7. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet, 1:23.424 (98.389)
8. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford, 1:23.465 (98.341)
ROW 5
9. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota, 1:23.568 (98.219)
10. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet, 1:23.614 (98.165)
ROW 6
11. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet, 1.23.214 (98.637)
12. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota, 1:23.241 (98.605)
ROW 7
13. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet, 1.23.367 (98.456)
14. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford, 1:23.360 (98.464)
ROW 8
15. Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, 1.23.367 (98.456)
16. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet, 1:23.519 (98.277)
ROW 9
17. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet, 1.23.370 (98.453)
18. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, 1:23.607 (98.174)
ROW 10
19. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota, 1.23.434 (98.377)
20. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet, 1:23.722 (98.039)
ROW 11
21. Michael McDowell, No. 34 Ford, 1.23.495 (98.305)
22. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, 1:23.747 (98.009)
ROW 12
23. Zane Smith, No. 71 Chevrolet, 1.23.646 (98.128)
24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet, 1:23.820 (97.924)
ROW 13
25. Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Ford, 1.23.766 (97.987)
26. Harrison Burton, No. 21 Ford, 1:23.897 (97.834)
ROW 14
27. Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Chevrolet, 1.23.823 (97.921)
28. Corey LaJoie, No. 51 Ford, 1:23.964 (97.756)
ROW 15
29. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford, 1.23.961 (97.760)
30. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Toyota, 1:24.058 (97.647)
ROW 16
31. Kaz Grala, No. 15 Ford, 1.23.968 (97.752)
32. Noah Gragson, No. 10 Ford, 1:24.133 (97.560)
ROW 17
33. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet, 1.23.997 (97.718)
34. Ryan Preece, No. 41 Ford, 1:24.415 (97.234)
ROW 18
35. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota, 1.24.043 (97.664)
36. Josh Berry, No. 4 Ford, 1:24.558 (97.069)
ROW 19
37. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota, 1.24.172 (97.515)
38. Josh Bilicki, No. 66 Ford, 1:26.163 (95.261)
