Shane van Gisbergen reached a new milestone in his NASCAR Cup Series career by qualifying 11th on the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway ahead of the Brickyard 400, marking his best NASCAR oval qualifying performance. Known for his skill on this circuit, he continued to build on past success, including a notable fourth-place finish in the Xfinity Series at Indianapolis earlier in 2024.
Strong Lap Time in Highly Competitive Field
Driving the #88 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro for Trackhouse Racing, van Gisbergen posted a flying lap speed of 181.485 mph. His qualifying time put him just 0.455 seconds behind pole position, securing a start from the sixth row next to veteran driver Kyle Busch in the Richard Childress Racing #8 car. This result surpasses his previous best Cup Series oval qualifying effort of 17th at Talladega during wildcard appearances in 2023.
Toyota Dominates Top Positions as Briscoe Claims Pole
The top five starting spots were swept by Toyota drivers, led by Indiana native Chase Briscoe in the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing entry. Briscoe won the pole position by a slim margin of 0.013 seconds over Bubba Wallace, posting a lap time of 49.136 seconds at 182.749 mph. Other Toyota drivers in the top five included Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, and Ty Gibbs, while William Byron was the highest-placing Chevrolet driver, qualifying sixth for Hendrick Motorsports.
Chase Briscoe Expresses Emotion After Pole Win at Hometown Track
Briscoe showed visible emotion after earning pole at his home event, sharing,
“I thought I was going to lose it a couple of times, but I was able to hold onto it,”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
He added,
“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.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
Reflecting on his local roots, Briscoe said,
“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.”
—Chase Briscoe, NASCAR driver
Denny Hamlin’s Crash Highlights Difficult Conditions During Qualifying
The qualifying session featured a dramatic moment when Denny Hamlin, fastest in earlier practice, lost control exiting Turn 2 and crashed into the inside barrier. Fortunately, he was unharmed but will start from 39th position due to the incident. Hamlin explained the challenging conditions,
“I saw that other guys had issues there and the wind picked up, which made for some pretty tight conditions off of Turn 2,”
—Denny Hamlin, NASCAR driver
He continued,
“And so if you’re not pointing correctly, it’s not going to turn. I wasn’t pointing correctly.”
—Denny Hamlin, NASCAR driver
Van Gisbergen’s Ascending Performance Signals Growing Competence in NASCAR Ovals
Van Gisbergen’s improved qualifying performance at Indianapolis underlines his progress adapting to the demands of oval racing in NASCAR’s top series. His consistent upward trajectory positions him as a promising competitor on oval tracks as he continues to develop his skills in American stock car racing.
