Shane van Gisbergen captures the pole for inaugural NASCAR race at Naval Base Coronado
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CORONADO, Calif. (AP) — Even when he’s less than his best on the twistiest tracks in NASCAR, Shane van Gisbergen still is better on one lap than the rest of the Cup Series drivers.
The Trackhouse Racing driver qualified first Saturday for the inaugural race on Naval Base Coronado near San Diego, turning a 2-minute, 14.788-second lap around the 16-turn, 3.4-mile street course that easily put him ahead of Carson Hocevar.
But van Gisbergen, who has won seven of his 14 Cup starts on street and road courses, was unhappy with the effort despite winning his sixth career pole and second this season.
“I left a lot of time on the table,” said van Gisbergen, who scraped the wall with his No. 97 Chevrolet. “I thought the track would be better, and I thought people would execute a bit better, but it’s just so difficult. So yeah, it’s amazing. I guess this Chevy’s really good. Just need to get the driver better.”
Ryan Blaney qualified third, and Zane Smith was fourth — the first of six drivers in the top 10 starting spots who are winless this season.
Their desperation for a victory will be mixed with heavy tire wear that has many drivers predicting chaos over 75 laps Sunday.
“It’s going to be a heck of a race,” Blaney said. “Tire degradation is massive, so it’s who can kind of manage their rears better. Manage your tires and don’t hit any concrete. I hope I can do those two things. That might be the recipe for success.”
With no Toyotas qualifying in the top 10 (for the first time since last March), several big names will be coming from the back. Denny Hamlin will start 26th as he seeks his fourth consecutive victory with the No. 11 Toyota.
Chase Elliott qualified 30th in the No. 9 Chevrolet. Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson qualified 36th as the El Cajon, California, native makes his second and final start of the season at his hometown race.
With many friends and family from New Zealand on hand, van Gisbergen will be aiming for his eighth Cup victory on a road or street course, which would break a tie with Elliott for most among active drivers.
“There’s going to be a lot of carnage, a lot of tire gambling, and hopefully we can make the calls right,” said van Gisbergen, who won from the pole position at Watkins Glen International two months ago.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing