Street Course maestro Shane van Gisbergen captured pole position for the inaugural 2026 NASCAR Cup Series San Diego Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado.
The Trackhouse Racing driver clocked a time of 2 minutes 14.788 seconds in Saturday afternoon’s qualifying, beating Carson Hocevar by 0.156 seconds to mark his sixth career Cup Series pole.
“A little bit,” said Van Gisbergen who was suprised to claim the holeshot. “I thought the track would be better, and I thought people would execute a bit better. As I said, it’s just so difficult. There’s three or four corners you’re seeing for the first time of the day, and it’s on your heater. Amazing.
“The Red Bull Chevy is really good. Thank you to Trackhouse for doing a great job from yesterday, and we just need to get the driver a bit better,” he concluded with a smile.”
Ryan Blaney claimed third place, just 0.260 seconds behind van Gisbergen, followed by Front Row Motorsports duo of Zane Smith and Todd Gilliland.
Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, Connor Zilisch, Michael McDowell and Austin Hill wrapped up the top ten.
Championship leader Tyler Reddick qualified 17th after a late spin, while last weekend’s winner Denny Hamlin finished 26th.
Kevin Magnussen qualified 21st for his NASCAR Cup debut with Trackhouse Racing Project 91.
NASCAR San Diego 2026 weekend schedule: Start time, TV info, odds
Full 2026 NASCAR Cup San Diego starting lineup – Anduril 250
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | 2:14.788 |
| 2 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | +0.156 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske Ford | +0.260 |
| 4 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports Ford | +0.603 |
| 5 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports Ford | +0.607 |
| 6 | 7 | Daniel Suarez | Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | +0.645 |
| 7 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing Ford | +0.695 |
| 8 | 88 | Connor Zilisch | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | +1.095 |
| 9 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | +1.140 |
| 10 | 33 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | +1.171 |
| 11 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | +1.362 |
| 12 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing Toyota | +1.531 |
| 13 | 67 | Corey Heim | 23XI Racing Toyota | +1.537 |
| 14 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | +1.567 |
| 15 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing Chevrolet | +1.749 |
| 16 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing Ford | +1.843 |
| 17 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing Toyota | +1.877 |
| 18 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | +2.148 |
| 19 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske Ford | +2.257 |
| 20 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | +2.281 |
| 21 | 91 | Kevin Magnussen | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | +2.483 |
| 22 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | +2.497 |
| 23 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | +2.586 |
| 24 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing Toyota | +3.019 |
| 25 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team Chevrolet | +3.049 |
| 26 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | +3.086 |
| 27 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | +3.185 |
| 28 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club Toyota | +3.316 |
| 29 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing Ford | +3.328 |
| 30 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | +3.336 |
| 31 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske Ford | +4.107 |
| 32 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports Ford | +4.338 |
| 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet | +4.465 |
| 34 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing Chevrolet | +4.929 |
| 35 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing Ford | +5.124 |
| 36 | 84 | Jimmie Johnson | Legacy Motor Club Toyota | +7.570 |
| 37 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | +8.851 |
| 38 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club Toyota | +36.541 |
| 39 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet | +1:10.955 |
