The 34-year-old and three-time Supercars champion was fastest in Xfinity Series practice on Friday but came up one spot short in qualifying for Saturday’s race at Circuit of the Americas.
Cup Series regular Kyle Larson, in a part-time Hendrick Motorsports entry, put up a solid average lap speed of 92.946 mph to win the pole. Van Gisbergen, one of the last cars on the track, came close but his lap speed of 92.650 mph left him second and sharing the front row with Larson.
“It’s a handful, that’s for sure,” Larson said of his No. 17 Chevrolet. “I was expecting these Xfinity cars to have a little more grip, but it was tough.
“There’s really lot of tough competitors out there. SVG probably still has a ways to learn on the car and he was still second-quick. It should be fun.”
Ty Gibbs will line up third, Chandler Smith fourth and A.J. Allmendinger rounds out the top five, which is filled with drivers with plenty of road course experience.
Earlier in the day, van Gisbergen had said he knew his experience would help on the road course but had found the Xfinity car much different than Cup.
Last July, he became the first driver in more than 60 years to win a Cup race in his debut when he took victory in the inaugural Chicago Street Race for Trackhouse Racing. The victory served as the instigator for his to move to NASCA, where he is running a full Xfinity schedule and partial Cup schedule, both with Kaulig.
“I had a good chat with (former Supercars and NASCAR star) Marcos Ambrose last night, and he said the Xfinity car will be unlike anything I’ve ever driven, the way it brakes and the way the rear-end works,” van Gisbergen said.
“He said it’s probably similar to the Cup cars he was racing, so hopefully those things help and helps me speed up the learning process.”
Saturday’s race will provide the first head-to-head battle between van Gisbergen and his Kaulig Racing teammate, A.J. Allmendinger, who has dominated the series’ road courses in recent years.
“We haven’t had too many races on-track, but everything I’ve asked him, he’s been open. He’s obviously at the top of his game and pretty impressive in those cars, and on the road courses here, as well,” van Gisbergen said.
“I’ve learned a lot from him, watching him on the simulator. I look forward to battling him on track, too. Hopefully we push each other forward and try to beat everyone else before we beat ourselves.”
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