Shane van Gisbergen captured the pole position for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway for the second consecutive year, setting him up to lead the field in Saturday’s Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250.
For the New Zealand driver, Friday’s top billing marked his fifth pole in 34 career Xfinity Series starts and his third straight overall, following a sweep of poles in both the Xfinity and Cup Series races last weekend in Chicago.
“I was having fun out there,” van Gisbergen said after qualifying with a relaxed grin.
He’ll start alongside JR Motorsports teammate and three-time Xfinity winner Connor Zilisch. Sam Mayer took third and Jesse Love qualified fourth. The top four finishers posted their qualifying times in the second round.
The 36-year-old, a three-time Australian Supercars champion before transitioning to NASCAR full-time in 2024, has established himself as a road course specialist. In last year’s Xfinity Series race at Sonoma Raceway, van Gisbergen started from the pole, led 32 laps and won the race, beating Sheldon Creed by 1.323 seconds.
A victory would be his third of 2025 and extend his road course winning streak to three, tying Jeff Gordon's record from 1998-99.
Van Gisbergen's recent dominance includes victories from the pole in both Chicago races last week, becoming the first driver to sweep Cup and Xfinity poles and wins in the same weekend since Kyle Busch in 2010.
A group of van Gisbergen’s friends flew in from Australia for the triple-header weekend at Sonoma to support the Kiwi during NASCAR’s only West Coast stop this season.
The Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250 is set for 1:30 p.m. PT on Saturday. It will air live on The CW, with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Tickets for the July 11-13 Sonoma Raceway NASCAR weekend are on sale now at SonomaRaceway.com or by calling (800) 870-RACE [7223]. Three-day weekend packages for adults start at just $130, and kids 12 and under are only $10. Tickets for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 can also be purchased at the lowest available price at local Save Mart, Lucky California or FoodMaxx stores. For further details, please visit the Sonoma Raceway website.
Tickets, camping, upgrades, premium options and much more are all available at SonomaRaceway.com or by calling (800) 870-RACE [7223].
