Shane Van Gisbergen works with crew in the garage area during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 220 at the Chicago Street Course. Photo: AFP
New Zealand driver Shane Van Gisbergen has defied raw unfamiliarity by qualifying third for his debut NASCAR race in Chicago.
The three-time Australian SuperCars champion set the fastest time in practice and looked a chance to be the pole-sitter before American Denny Hamlin knocked him off the perch for the first-ever street course race in NASCAR Cup Series history.
Speeding around the 2.2-mile, 12-turn Chicago Street Course in 88.435 seconds, Hamlin earned the right to lead the field to the green flag in Sunday's Grant Park 220 (9am NZT).
Tyler Reddick earned the second starting spot, followed by Van Gisbergen, who is making a one-off appearance in the American stock car racing series but has spoken of his desire to one day compete there fulltime.
He played down expectations around his prospects, pointing out he is still adjusting to some fundamental differences to his regular Supercars experience.
"Well I sit on the other side of the car, so that's the hardest thing," he told journalists.
"And just the wall where the fence is… I ended up hitting the wall at the end with the right front, so just misjudging the wall because the whole car is on the other side.
"That's probably the most difficult thing."
Footwork, however, "feels the same," and there is some level of familiarity with the Gen2 ZB Commodore which van Gisbergen drove last and the Gen3 Camaro he pilots in Supercars.
"The car was good, the guys have done a great job, my preparation has been good.
"We do a lot of street courses (in Supercars) but nothing like this, with the cracks in the road and the violence of the braking markers. But it's the same for everyone. Just have to find the fine line. And the track will get better, too."
Van Gisbergen survived a pressure situation just to make the final round.
Like a pole vaulter who passes until the height reaches 18 feet, he didn't start his first-round lap until fewer than six minutes remained in the session.
As Van Gisbergen started his first attempt, Chase Elliott stayed close behind the New Zealander, maintaining a strong pace of his own until the entry to the Carousel (Turns 8 and 9).
Elliott missed the corner and slammed nose-first into one of the 10,000-pound concrete barriers where the course transitions from the southbound lane of Michigan Ave.
- Reuters