Shane van Gisbergen secured the pole position for Sunday’s Cup race on the streets of Chicago, marking his third career pole in the Cup series. He achieved this with an impressive lap speed of 88.338 mph, following his previous pole win in Mexico, which he converted into a victory. Van Gisbergen, the winner of the inaugural Chicago Street Race in 2023 during his Cup debut, expressed gratitude for his team’s efforts, stating, “That was epic… I’m a lucky boy.”
Joining him on the front row will be Michael McDowell, who qualified second with a speed of 87.979 mph. Carson Hocevar, who achieved his best starting position on a road course, qualified third at 87.824 mph, while Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe rounded out the top five with laps of 87.779 mph and 87.734 mph, respectively.
Richard Childress Racing had a strong showing, placing both drivers in the top 10. Kyle Busch secured the sixth position at 87.639 mph, and Austin Dillon claimed the tenth spot with a speed of 87.303 mph. Notably, reigning Supercars champion Will Brown is set to make his second career Cup start, qualifying 19th at 86.990 mph.
The race will see points leader William Byron and second-in-points Chase Elliott starting from the back of the field due to separate incidents that occurred in practice, where their teams opted for repairs over qualifying. Denny Hamlin will also start at the rear after suffering an engine failure during practice. Their Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman will join them at the back due to similar repair needs after relinquishing their starting positions.
Bubba Wallace, currently holding the final playoff spot with just eight races remaining in the regular season, faces challenges as he will start 37th after an incident during qualification.
This event marks the first race since the Daytona 500 to attract more than 40 cars, resulting in one car failing to qualify. Katherine Legge secured the final spot, edging out Corey Heim, whose session was cut short due to a wall collision.
Legge commented on the pressure of competing on a challenging street course with limited practice time, sharing pride in her team’s performance and optimism for the upcoming race.
This race promises to showcase a mix of seasoned drivers and rising talents under the excitement of street racing, potentially bringing surprises and thrilling moments for fans and competitors alike.