SVG Outpaces Zilisch For Another Xfinity Pole On The Road

Shane van Gisbergen celebrates his NASCAR Xfinity Series pole at Sonoma Raceway. (David Rosenblum/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

SONOMA, Calif. – Shane van Gisbergen’s pole qualifying effort Friday afternoon with JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series was all but a foregone conclusion.

Backing up his road course dominance yet again, the New Zealand native topped the time sheets at Sonoma Raceway with a lap of one minute, 15.259 seconds (95.191 mph) in the No. 9 Quad Lock Chevrolet.

It was enough for van Gisbergen to outpace his teenage teammate, Connor Zilisch, by .244 seconds for his fifth career Kennametal Pole Award and the top starting spot in Saturday’s Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250.

Van Gisbergen is chasing both his second straight Xfinity Series win overall – after triumphing a week ago at the Chicago (Ill.) Street Course – and his second in a row at Sonoma to defend his victory from last year, when he was a full-time competitor at NASCAR’s second-highest level.

“I think it’s hotter than last year was here, so it was slippery out there all day, but the car’s quite different compared to what I was driving last year … so it’s just been about trying to get used to that and how the car reacts,” explained van Gisbergen, whose four Xfinity Series wins have all come on road courses.

“In Chicago, the feel wasn’t too different, but compared to what I had last year here it’s quite a bit different … but I feel good,” he added. “Our race runs were OK, but qualifying ended up being really, really strong for all of our cars.”

Zilisch will join van Gisbergen on the front row Saturday and looks to avenge his defeat in Chicago, where the 18-year-old led at the final restart only to be passed in the first turn by van Gisbergen.

His best lap was 1:15.503 (94.884 mph) in the No. 88 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet.

Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer starts third (1:15.644/94.707) in a Ford alongside the Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Jesse Love (1:15.839/94.463) in fourth.

Joe Gibbs Racing rookie William Sawalich closed out the Fast Five (75.881 94.411) as the best of the Toyota contingent in qualifications.

Sammy Smith, Carson Kvapil, Brandon Jones, Sheldon Creed, and Justin Allgaier timed in sixth through 10th, respectively, with all five JR Motorsports entries lining up in the first five rows Saturday.

Notables starting deeper in the field at Sonoma include Anthony Alfredo (13th), Corey Day (14th), Riley Herbst (15th), Connor Mosack (22nd), Nick Sanchez (23rd), Sage Karam (26th), Daniel Dye (31st), and road course aces Austin Green (33rd) and Will Rodgers (36th).

With 39 entries vying for 38 starting spots, Joey Gase Racing’s Austin J. Hill – an 18-year-old from Chilicothe, Ohio, who was attempting to make his series debut – was the lone driver who failed to qualify.

Broadcast coverage of Saturday’s Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.