Daniel Suarez was the next-best of the Chevrolet Camaro trio in 26th driving the #99 while Ross Chastain in the #1 was only 28th.
Van Gisbergen has just one start at Iowa to his name in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Year on year, the track has undergone changes to its surface – particularly at Turn 2 where a new piece of asphalt in 2024 has worn away.
“I asked him what was different year-to-year,” van Gisbergen said.
“The track’s obviously changed color a lot, but still has big grip, and the bumps are difficult, which caught him out. He warned me about that.
“It’s a tough track, tough with the bumps. I feel like we’re getting better.”
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe claimed pole position in the #19 Toyota Camry, setting s 23.0004s around the bullring oval.
William Byron in the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro was a close second, just 0.084s in arrears while his teammate Kyle Larson in the #5 was third and 0.085s back.
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in the #12 Ford Mustang was fourth and owner-driver Brad Keselowski was fifth in the #6 RFK Racing Ford Mustang.
Van Gisbergen’s lap, a 23.308s, put him 0.304s off the pole time.
For Briscoe, it was his eighth career pole position, his sixth this season, and first at Iowa.
Briscoe hailed his Australian crew chief James Small. The pair began working together after Martin Truex Jr. retired at the end of 2024.
“I just feel that James and the engineers on the #19 crew have done a really, really good job, especially these last two months, of understanding what I want and what I need out of the race car,” Briscoe said.
“I’ve even kind of noticed a switch with James over the course of the last two or three weeks even, where it went from ‘We’ve got to be doing this different’ to ‘We’ve got to get the car better for you now.’
“I think that came as they started to understand me more, and our performance has been better. James does such a great job of understanding what I need, especially on Saturdays for qualifying.”
The NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 gets underway at 5:30am AEST on Monday, August 4 with coverage live and exclusively on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.
Results: NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Qualifying
| Pos | Num | Driver | Team | Time | Lap (mph) | Diff | Gap |
| 1 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | 23.004 | 136.933 | ||
| 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | 23.088 | 136.435 | 0.084 | 0.084 |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | 23.089 | 136.429 | 0.085 | 0.001 |
| 4 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | 23.101 | 136.358 | 0.097 | 0.012 |
| 5 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | 23.119 | 136.252 | 0.115 | 0.018 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | 23.151 | 136.063 | 0.147 | 0.032 |
| 7 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | 23.159 | 136.016 | 0.155 | 0.008 |
| 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | 23.165 | 135.981 | 0.161 | 0.006 |
| 9 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | 23.174 | 135.928 | 0.17 | 0.009 |
| 10 | 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports | 23.198 | 135.788 | 0.194 | 0.024 |
| 11 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | 23.219 | 135.665 | 0.215 | 0.021 |
| 12 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | 23.23 | 135.601 | 0.226 | 0.011 |
| 13 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | 23.238 | 135.554 | 0.234 | 0.008 |
| 14 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | 23.245 | 135.513 | 0.241 | 0.007 |
| 15 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | 23.247 | 135.501 | 0.243 | 0.002 |
| 16 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | 23.255 | 135.455 | 0.251 | 0.008 |
| 17 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | 23.268 | 135.379 | 0.264 | 0.013 |
| 18 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | 23.271 | 135.362 | 0.267 | 0.003 |
| 19 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | 23.286 | 135.274 | 0.282 | 0.015 |
| 20 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | 23.306 | 135.158 | 0.302 | 0.02 |
| 21 | 88 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | 23.308 | 135.147 | 0.304 | 0.002 |
| 22 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | 23.322 | 135.066 | 0.318 | 0.014 |
| 23 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | 23.338 | 134.973 | 0.334 | 0.016 |
| 24 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | 23.363 | 134.829 | 0.359 | 0.025 |
| 25 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | 23.365 | 134.817 | 0.361 | 0.002 |
| 26 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | 23.396 | 134.638 | 0.392 | 0.031 |
| 27 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | 23.398 | 134.627 | 0.394 | 0.002 |
| 28 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | 23.402 | 134.604 | 0.398 | 0.004 |
| 29 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | 23.439 | 134.391 | 0.435 | 0.037 |
| 30 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | 23.459 | 134.277 | 0.455 | 0.02 |
| 31 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | 23.509 | 133.991 | 0.505 | 0.05 |
| 32 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | 23.526 | 133.894 | 0.522 | 0.017 |
| 33 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | 23.538 | 133.826 | 0.534 | 0.012 |
| 34 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | 23.631 | 133.299 | 0.627 | 0.093 |
| 35 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | 23.633 | 133.288 | 0.629 | 0.002 |
| 36 | 66 | Joey Gase | Garage 66 | 25.173 | 125.134 | 2.169 | 1.54 |
| 37 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing |
Get the latest NASCAR news, stats, and US racing coverage at Speedcafe US
Discussion about this post