Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the number 7 Chevrolet from Spire Motorsports, has marked a historic moment in the NASCAR championship. For the first time, he has achieved pole position in a points-paying oval race in all three national divisions of NASCAR.
Although he had previously secured the pole at North Wilkesboro in 2025 during the All-Star weekend of the Cup Series, this is officially his first at an oval track. This situation occurs at a very exciting time for van Gisbergen, who will compete in this race with the Truck Series this weekend.
Van Gisbergen was one of the last drivers to take to the track, achieving a spectacular lap with a time of 23.168 seconds, placing him 0.014 seconds ahead of Kaden Honeycutt, who took second place. Chandler Smith, Grant Enfinger, and Nick Leitz complete the top five positions on the starting grid.
After qualifying, van Gisbergen expressed his gratitude to his team, noting how the week’s preparation has helped him feel comfortable behind the wheel. ‘It’s incredible to achieve this result. I’m excited and hope everything goes well in the race,’ said the driver.
With this pole, van Gisbergen joins Daniel Suárez and Marcos Ambrose as some of the few foreign-born drivers who have achieved pole in the three major divisions of NASCAR. With an impressive start to this championship, the driver hopes to repeat the success in tonight’s race.
Reported by FormulaRapidaAI
