Qualifying report

Shane van Gisbergen earns NASCAR Cup pole in Chicago with blistering lap

SVG will lead the field to the green flag in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series races at the Chicago Street Course

After a dominant victory in Mexico City, Shane van Gisbergen (SVG) remains the man to beat as NASCAR takes on the Chicago Street Course. He was nearly half a second faster than his closest competition, with Michael McDowell joining him on the front row.

"That was epic," said van Gisbergen. "I think the guys did a great job. The WeatherTech Chevy is driving good. I'm a lucky boy. I got some great cars today -- Xfinity pole and Cup pole. It's pretty special. Yeah, looking forward to the race tomorrow. But what a tune-up ... practice wasn't that great but in qualifying, the car felt really good."

Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Behind van Gisbergen and McDowell, Carson Hocevar qualified third, Tyler Reddick fourth, and Chase Briscoe fifth. Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs, and Austin Dillon filled out the remainder of the top ten.

As the first group went out, reigning Supercars champion Will Brown set the pace with a 1:31.045s lap, but he would not stay there as his fellow Supercars champ SVG surged to the top of the board.

Briscoe, who has more pole positions this year than any other driver, went even quicker than van Gisbergen, but SVG wasn't done just yet. He responded in a big way, rocketing back to the top, over six tenths quicker than Briscoe.

As the Group A session ended, Noah Gragson limped back to the pits after hitting the wall and breaking a toe-link, but he did a good job not to impede the other drivers on track.

During Group B's qualifying session, Bubba Wallace spun out just before the finish line and nearly backed into Erik Jones as he tried to straighten it out. However, he spun again later in the session, hitting a tire barrier. Brad Keselowski also backed it into the tires at Turn 7, but continued with minimal damage.

As for SVG, no one could hope to match him. The Spire Motorsports teammates of McDowell and Hocevar were the closest, but even they were almost five full tenths behind the road racing ace.

The battle to make the race

Corey Heim, Toyota

Photo by: Logan Riely / Getty Images

This race will also feature a DNQ for the first time in seven years (in a race other than the Daytona 500). Brown, along with Katherine Legge, Corey Heim, Josh Bilicki, and Austin Hill were battling for the final four spots on the grid.

Shockingly, it was Heim in jeopardy as he went slowest with a 1:32.9, hitting the wall and bending a toe-link. As the time ticked down, he went back out with a visible damaged car. The No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota was skewed as he dragged it around the track, finding another four tenths but still sitting slowest among all drivers.

It came down to a battle between Heim and Legge. She hit the wall during her first run but escaped damage. On her second attempt, she picked up a lot and ended up beating Heim by 0.138s in a stunning upset and strong showing by the part-time Cup driver.

Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott did not take part in qualifying after incidents in practice. Denny Hamlin did not post a lap either after suffering a blown engine in practice.