Shane van Gisbergen secured his first ever oval‑track pole in the NASCAR Truck Series, clocking 23.168 seconds at Richmond for the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.
Dominating Qualifying and Setting the Stage
Van Gisbergen edged Kaden Honeycutt by a razor‑thin 0.014 seconds to take pole. Chandler Smith headed third, Grant Enfinger fourth and Nick Leitz fifth.
After the race, the New Zealander thanked the Spire crew: “It’s pretty awesome. We had a pretty good week and these guys helped me get comfortable. Pretty amazing to do that. I’m stoked.” He added that the crew’s support would be pivotal as he moved from Cup practice to the truck start.
Building Momentum from Previous Oval Stints
Van Gisbergen has finished third in his latest truck start at North Wilkesboro and has added two top‑15 finishes to his rookie‑season record at Richmond in Cup/O’Reilly entries.
He emphasized that the transition from Cup cars to trucks is seamless: “These trucks are pretty similar to a Cup car, so it does translate. I’m just getting used to things.”
The question ahead is whether van Gisbergen can turn that pole position into a race win.
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