By David Morgan, Associate Editor
CONCORD, N.C. – A clean sweep.
Shane van Gisbergen lived up to expectations Saturday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, sweeping the pole positions for both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series races on the 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course.
Piloting his No. 13 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet around the course in one minute, 22.704 seconds, the New Zealander jumped to the top of the board, but would have to wait out the threat from Tyler Reddick, who made a run at the top spot, but ultimately fell short of the pole.
Reddick will join van Gisbergen on the front row as he looks to defend his points position inside the top-eight for Sunday’s elimination race.
“He’s obviously very quick to do those extra laps and still match it, but thanks to this Kaulig Racing team. Last minute deal to come and race here. Thanks to Matt and the guys for letting me come and run their car and of course for WeatherTech coming on board too,” said van Gisbergen.
“The Chevy’s really quick. What an amazing day. I’m at a loss for words.”
Along with third-place starter A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig will have to bullets to go for the win on Sunday and play spoiler to keep the win out of the hands of one of the Playoff drivers. Allmendinger won this race a year ago and van Gisbergen has been a threat in each and every road course race he has run.
“We’ve just got to make sure we race clean. There’s a lot of Playoff guys around me that I have to race respectfully, but yeah, we’re here to win the race. I’ve got a teammate up there with me too, so obviously the team has done a great job. Hopefully we have a good day.”
Behind van Gisbergen, Reddick, and Allmendinger, Playoff drivers will make up the next four starting positions, including Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott.
Brad Keselowski and Bubba Wallace will start eighth and ninth as two more non-Playoff driver, with William Byron rounding out the top-10 as the only Playoff driver to have already punched his ticket to the next round.
The remainder of the Playoff drivers will start scattered throughout the rest of the field, led by Christopher Bell in 12th, Daniel Suarez in 13th, Ryan Blaney in 14th, Alex Bowman in 17th, Denny Hamlin in 18th and Chase Briscoe in 25th.
Safe and Sound in the Next Round
Of the 12 Playoff drivers, William Byron is the only one that can go into Sunday without a care in the…
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