Shane van Gisbergen becomes only the third driver to achieve special feat. after Mexico NASCAR pole

Shane van Gisbergen, NASCAR driver for Trackhouse Racing, made history when he won the pole for the Cup Race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. He has joined an exclusive group including Tyler Reddick and Dan Gurney.

Shane van Gisbergen has scripted history by winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race in Mexico City. He is only the third NASCAR Cup Series driver to win their first two career poles on road courses, following two of the greats in legendary Dan Gurney and a current star in Tyler Reddick.

Van Gisbergen's pole-winning lap is a showcase of speed and precision on the road course. The track itself is 2.62 miles long, by far the highest-elevation race track on the calendar, and the technical corners provide a perfect challenge for the precision of the drivers.

His time of 1:32.776 was set early in the session and before the rain forced officials to end qualifying, and his time secured his place as pole-sitter. This pole provides a glimpse of his ability on road courses and helps highlight his progressive transition from Supercars to NASCAR.

Prior to his qualifying session, Shane van Gisbergen spoke during media availability about racing in Mexico and his road course specialty.

"It's so hard to know what the car's going to be like -- it’s a different track, how it's going to be affected by the altitude and the surface," said van Gisbergen in a Friday media availability. "Watching those NASCAR Mexico cars drive around, they look like they're driving on ice. It's going to be interesting to feel what our cars are like in these conditions. But yeah, we should be up front. These are the types of tracks I'm good at, so we'll see. These are the types of tracks I'm good at, so we'll see.”

Shane van Gisbergen is one of the most fascinating characters in motorsport. The three-time Supercars champion (2016, 2021, 2022) and multi-time Bathurst 1000 champion has made the successful move to NASCAR, where he currently competes full-time in the Cup Series for Trackhouse Racing and part-time in the Xfinity Series for Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned JR Motorsports. Van Gisbergen made his mark on the world scene as he won his debut race in NASCAR in 2023 at the Chicago Street Course, becoming the seventh driver in series history to do so.

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Shane van Gisbergen keeps expectations 100% real for NASCAR's landmark Mexico race

Despite Shane van Gisbergen being one of the favorites to win the Viva Mexico 250 event in Mexico City, he will approach the NASCAR Cup Series landmark race with even expectations.

After several oval races in the Cup series as a rookie with Trackhouse Racing, van Gisbergen was relieved to be back at a road course, in which he has always been strong. While fans and the sport expect him to have a good performance at a road course, he felt that transitioning from ovals was a big learning curve, and it was nice to have a road course race to relax and be at one with his strengths.

"Everyone expects us to perform on road courses," van Gisbergen said in a recent media availability via Cup Scene. "Not that we have been hanging out for it, but the ovals have been a big learning process the last couple of months. It will be nice for sure to have a bit of a break and races on the types of courses I’m used to which means turning right."

Van Gisbergen's road course pedigree is well-established, with three Xfinity Series wins on such tracks before his full-time Cup move and a headline-grabbing Cup debut victory at the 2023 Chicago Street Course.