Shane van Gisbergen went to the top early in qualifying with a 1:32.776s lap in the No. 88 Chevrolet…and no one was able to beat it. This is the Trackhouse Racing driver's second career pole and his first of the 2025 season. Sitting 33rd in the championship standings, he desperately needs a race win and this could be an opportunity for him to shake up the playoff standings.
He will be joined on the front row by RFK Racing's Ryan Preece, who denied Trackhouse a front row lockout. He ended the session 0.064s adrift of SVG's pole time. Preece hasn’t yet won a race in the Cup Series.
“We made some big swings last night. Our No. 88 Safety Culture Chevrolet was a bit better," said van Gisbergen. "We had a lot more front grip, which is what I needed. But my laps were average.. like you’ll see everyone was beating me on the first-half of the lap, and then my lap gets good at the end. We had a lot of speed today, which is good. It’s been a great improvement. What a really cool achievement for us and a great start for tomorrow. I’m excited. That’s really cool.”
Ross Chastain ended up third in his best qualifying effort of the year, right behind his teammate (SVG). Ty Gibbs timed in fourth and Michael McDowell fifth.
Kyle Larson, Todd Gilliland, A.J. Allmendinger, Joey Logano, and home hero Daniel Suarez rounded out the top ten.
The 45-minute open qualifying session was structured more like practice, giving teams plenty of time to get out on track. It was not a mad dash to go out on track as drivers slowly trickled out, but inclement weather was a concern from the start.
The first incident was for a spin by Katherine Legge, who is making just her second career Cup Series start. The car came to a rest in the grass with no damage.
Chastain got within a tenth SVG and put the team cars 1-2 until Preece ended up getting between them, just 0.009s ahead of Chastain. Preece then went for a harmless spin immediately after the impressive lap.
Some drivers attempted to make a second run including Allmendinger and Christopher Bell, but neither were able to improve.
With 17 minutes left in the session, NASCAR red-flagged the session as it began to rain. Qualifying never resumed due to the light rain showers.
Drivers with some work to do include Chase Briscoe, who will start 19th, ending his run of three consecutive Cup poles. 23XI Racing struggled with Tyler Reddick putting forth their best qualifying effort in 22nd. Two Hendrick Motorsports drivers start outside the top-25 with William Byron 27th and Alex Bowman 29th. Bell is perhaps the biggest surprise, as he won the most recent road course race at COTA, but he only managed to qualify 31st.
Ryan Truex, who is filling in for Denny Hamlin and making his first Cup start in almost 11 years, qualified 36th in the 37-car field with Legge taking the final spot on the grid.
| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Interval | Mph | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S. van GisbergenTrackHouse Racing | 88 | Chevrolet | 3 |
1'32.776 |
93.904 | ||
| 2 | R. PreeceRFK Racing | 60 | Ford | 1 |
+0.064 1'32.840 |
0.064 | 93.839 | |
| 3 | R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing | 1 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.073 1'32.849 |
0.009 | 93.830 | |
| 4 | T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing | 54 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.145 1'32.921 |
0.072 | 93.757 | |
| 5 | M. McDowellSpire Motorsports | 71 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.198 1'32.974 |
0.053 | 93.704 | |
| 6 | K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports | 5 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.208 1'32.984 |
0.010 | 93.694 | |
| 7 | T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports | 34 | Ford | 5 |
+0.244 1'33.020 |
0.036 | 93.657 | |
| 8 | A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing | 16 | Chevrolet | 4 |
+0.246 1'33.022 |
0.002 | 93.655 | |
| 9 | J. LoganoTeam Penske | 22 | Ford | 1 |
+0.273 1'33.049 |
0.027 | 93.628 | |
| 10 | D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing | 99 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.285 1'33.061 |
0.012 | 93.616 | |
| 11 | K. BuschRichard Childress Racing | 8 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.308 1'33.084 |
0.023 | 93.593 | |
| 12 | C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports | 9 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.332 1'33.108 |
0.024 | 93.569 | |
| 13 |
J. BerryWood Brothers Racing
|
21 | Ford | 2 |
+0.382 1'33.158 |
0.050 | 93.519 | |
| 14 | E. JonesLegacy Motor Club | 43 | Toyota | 3 |
+0.418 1'33.194 |
0.036 | 93.482 | |
| 15 | R. Herbst23XI Racing | 35 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.425 1'33.201 |
0.007 | 93.475 | |
| 16 | C. BuescherRFK Racing | 17 | Ford | 4 |
+0.430 1'33.206 |
0.005 | 93.470 | |
| 17 | J. HaleySpire Motorsports | 7 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.458 1'33.234 |
0.028 | 93.442 | |
| 18 | R. BlaneyTeam Penske | 12 | Ford | 1 |
+0.471 1'33.247 |
0.013 | 93.429 | |
| 19 | C. BriscoeJoe Gibbs Racing | 19 | Toyota | 5 |
+0.481 1'33.257 |
0.010 | 93.419 | |
| 20 | A. CindricTeam Penske | 2 | Ford | 4 |
+0.543 1'33.319 |
0.062 | 93.357 | |
| 21 | A. DillonRichard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevrolet | 4 |
+0.566 1'33.342 |
0.023 | 93.334 | |
| 22 | T. Reddick23XI Racing | 45 | Toyota | 6 |
+0.569 1'33.345 |
0.003 | 93.331 | |
| 23 | C. HocevarSpire Motorsports | 77 | Chevrolet | 4 |
+0.575 1'33.351 |
0.006 | 93.325 | |
| 24 | Z. SmithFront Row Motorsports | 38 | Ford | 4 |
+0.589 1'33.365 |
0.014 | 93.311 | |
| 25 | B. Wallace23XI Racing | 23 | Toyota | 4 |
+0.650 1'33.426 |
0.061 | 93.250 | |
| 26 | C. CusterHaas Factory Team | 41 | Ford | 3 |
+0.652 1'33.428 |
0.002 | 93.248 | |
| 27 | W. ByronHendrick Motorsports | 24 | Chevrolet | 4 |
+0.682 1'33.458 |
0.030 | 93.218 | |
| 28 | T. DillonKaulig Racing | 10 | Chevrolet | 4 |
+0.819 1'33.595 |
0.137 | 93.082 | |
| 29 | A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports | 48 | Chevrolet | 3 |
+0.828 1'33.604 |
0.009 | 93.073 | |
| 30 | B. KeselowskiRFK Racing | 6 | Ford | 2 |
+0.931 1'33.707 |
0.103 | 92.971 | |
| 31 | C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing | 20 | Toyota | 4 |
+0.944 1'33.720 |
0.013 | 92.958 | |
| 32 | J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club | 42 | Toyota | 4 |
+1.282 1'34.058 |
0.338 | 92.624 | |
| 33 | R. Stenhouse JrHyak Motorsports | 47 | Chevrolet | 4 |
+1.376 1'34.152 |
0.094 | 92.531 | |
| 34 | C. WareRick Ware Racing | 51 | Ford | 3 |
+1.437 1'34.213 |
0.061 | 92.471 | |
| 35 | N. GragsonFront Row Motorsports | 4 | Ford | 9 |
+1.640 1'34.416 |
0.203 | 92.272 | |
| 36 | R. TruexJoe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Toyota | 5 |
+1.848 1'34.624 |
0.208 | 92.070 | |
| 37 | K. LeggeLive Fast Motorsports | 78 | Chevrolet | 9 |
+2.692 1'35.468 |
0.844 | 91.256 |
