Kyle Larson to Denny Hamlin after edging Ty Gibbsas at pole at Chicago Street Race: “It wasn’t perfect but i….”

Larson Secures Pole Position for Grant Park 165 in Chicago

In a thrilling qualifying session at the Chicago Street Course, Kyle Larson clinched the pole position for Sunday’s Grant Park 165 NASCAR Cup Series race, marking his fifth pole of the season. Larson, driving the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, edged out Ty Gibbs by a mere .010 seconds in the final round of qualifying.

The qualifying session, held on the challenging 2.2-mile street course, saw Larson set a blistering pace early on with a track-record lap in the opening round. Despite improvements in subsequent rounds, Larson acknowledged that his final lap wasn’t perfect but still managed to secure the coveted top spot on the grid.

“It wasn’t perfect,” Larson commented after securing pole position, “but judging by the reaction from my spotter, it had to be pretty close on lap time, so really awesome to get a pole here in Chicago.”

Michael McDowell, last year’s road race winner at the Indianapolis Grand Prix Course, qualified third, narrowly missing out on the top spot. McDowell expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance and the improvements made between qualifying rounds.

“We made good changes in between Round 1 and 2 because I felt like Larson and SVG (Shane van Gisbergen) sort of had everybody covered there,” McDowell noted. “So we’re starting up front. We’ll have a great shot at it with the White Sox Ford Mustang.”

Defending race winner Shane van Gisbergen secured a top-five starting position, demonstrating his proficiency on road courses. The competition was intense throughout the field, with notable incidents including Brad Keselowski’s spin into the wall during qualifying, impacting his starting position.

Denny Hamlin, the pole winner from the previous year’s Chicago Street Race, narrowly missed out on the final qualifying round and will start 11th. Meanwhile, William Byron faced adversity after a power steering failure necessitated significant repairs, forcing him to start from the rear of the field on race day.

In a moment of drama, Harrison Burton and Josh Berry also encountered challenges during qualifying, with Burton spinning into a tire barrier and Berry struggling with a spin that relegated him to a 36th-place start.

As Larson celebrates his pole position, all eyes are now on Sunday’s Grant Park 165, where strategy, skill, and speed will converge on the streets of Chicago. With a competitive field set to challenge for victory, fans can expect an action-packed race as drivers navigate the tight corners and long straights of this unique urban circuit.