Shane van Gisbergen captured his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole position, defeating playoff driver Tyler Reddick in qualifying at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
The three-time Supercars champion, who will move to the Cup full-time with Trackhouse Racing next season, will make his 12th start in the Cup. He is racing full-time in the Xfinity Series this season, having previously claimed his third pole position in Saturday's race at the Roval circuit, which he enters in an attempt to advance to the next round of the playoffs.
Driving the No. 13 Chevrolet fielded by Kaulig Racing (his Xfinity Series team, which also scored its first Cup pole position), van Gisbergen completed a lap in 1 minute, 22.704 seconds (99.246 mph).
RESULTS: Click here to see qualifying speeds at the Roval
STARTING LINEUPS: By row l By car number
“Thank you to the Kaulig Racing team,” van Gisbergen told NBC Sports' Kim Coon. “It was a last minute deal to come and race here. Thank you to (team owner) Matt (Kaulig) and the guys for letting me drive the car. This Chevy is really fast. What an amazing day. I am lost for words.”
As the sixth foreign-born driver to take the Cup pole, van Gisbergen will be trying to claim his second Cup victory after winning on his debut in last year's Chicago Street Race.
But he will have to be careful as he races against 11 championship contenders who are trying to advance to the third round of the play-offs in Sunday's final race.
How to watch Sunday's NASCAR Cup playoff race at the Charlotte Roval
On Sunday, four drivers will be eliminated from the title race.
“Just make sure we race cleanly,” van Gisbergen said. “I have to respect that there are a lot of players around me who are in the playoffs. I have to race with respect. But we are here to win the race. Let's hope we have a good day.”
Reddick rebounded to qualify second after spinning on the front stretch and drawing a red flag when he was unable to restart his No. 45 Toyota during the second Group 1 practice session.
AJ Allmendinger (van Gisbergen's Kaulig teammate) qualified third.
Half of the 12 remaining playoff drivers heading into Sunday's cutoff race finished in the top 10 in the final round of qualifying: Reddick, Joey Logano (fourth), Austin Cindric (fifth), Kyle Larson (sixth), Chase Elliott (seventh) and William Byron (10th).
Six Cup playoff drivers who failed to advance to the final round of qualifying: Christopher Bell (started 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:
GOVERNMENT 1
1. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 13 Chevrolet, 1 minute, 22.704 seconds (99.246 mph)
2. Tyler Reddick, Toyota nr 45, 1:22,761 (99,177)
ROW 2
3. A.J. General notes, no. 16 Chevrolet, 1:23.015 (98.874)
4. Joey Logano, Ford nr 22, 1:23,166 (98,694)
ROW 3
5. Austin Cindric, Ford nr 2, 1:23.262 (98.580)
6. Kyle Larson, Chevrolet nr 5, 1:23,330 (98,500)
ROW 4
7. Chase Elliott, Chevrolet nr 9, 1:23,424 (98,389)
8. Brad Keselowski, Ford nr 6, 1:23,465 (98,341)
ROW 5
9. Bubba Wallace, Toyota nr 23, 1:23,568 (98,219)
10. William Byron, Chevrolet nr 24, 1:23,614 (98,165)
GOVERNMENT 6
11. Kyle Busch, Chevrolet nr 8, 1.23.214 (98.637)
12. Christopher Bell, Toyota nr 20, 1:23,241 (98,605)
GOVERNMENT 7
13. Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet nr 99, 1.23.367 (98.456)
14. Ryan Blaney, Ford nr 12, 1:23,360 (98,464)
GOVERNMENT 8
15. Todd Gilliland, Ford nr 38, 1.23.367 (98.456)
16. Ross Chastain, Chevrolet nr 1, 1:23,519 (98,277)
GOVERNMENT 9
17. Alex Bowman, Chevrolet nr 48, 1.23.370 (98.453)
18. Denny Hamlin, Toyota nr 11, 1:23,607 (98,174)
ROW 10
19. Ty Gibbs, nr 54 Toyota, 1.23.434 (98.377)
20. Carson Hocevar, nr 77 Chevrolet, 1:23,722 (98,039)
GOVERNMENT 11
21. Michael McDowell, Ford nr 34, 1.23.495 (98.305)
22. Austin Dillon, Chevrolet nr 3, 1:23,747 (98,009)
GOVERNMENT 12
23. Zane Smith, Chevrolet nr 71, 1.23.646 (98.128)
24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet nr 47, 1:23,820 (97,924)
GOVERNMENT 13
25. Chase Briscoe, Ford nr 14, 1.23.766 (97.987)
26. Harrison Burton, Ford nr 21, 1:23,897 (97,834)
GOVERNMENT 14
27. Daniel Hemric, nr 31 Chevrolet, 1.23.823 (97.921)
28. Corey LaJoie, Ford nr 51, 1:23.964 (97.756)
GOVERNMENT 15
29. Chris Buescher, Ford nr 17, 1.23.961 (97.760)
30. Martin Truex Jr., nr 19 Toyota, 1:24,058 (97,647)
GOVERNMENT 16
31. Kaz Grala, nr. 15 Ford, 1.23.968 (97.752)
32. Noah Gragson, Ford nr 10, 1:24,133 (97,560)
GOVERNMENT 17
33. Justin Haley, Chevrolet nr 7, 1.23.997 (97.718)
34. Ryan Preece, Ford nr 41, 1:24,415 (97,234)
GOVERNMENT 18
35. John Hunter Nemechek, nr. 42 Toyota, 1.24.043 (97.664)
36. Josh Berry, Ford nr 4, 1:24,558 (97,069)
GOVERNMENT 19
37. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota, 1.24.172 (97.515)
38. Josh Bilicki, Ford nr 66, 1:26,163 (95,261)
