Van Gisbergen set a session-best 1:15.914s, which put him atop the first leg of qualifying.
At the end of the first portion, he completed a 360-degree spin cresting the hill in the first sector.
The #97 Trackhouse Racing Camaro slid down the order as those in the second leg of qualifying improved.
Pole position went to Ty Gibbs in the #54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry ahead of surprise packet Carson Hocevar in the #77 Spire Motorsports Camaro.
Even Hocevar himself was surprised by his qualifying performance.
“I didn’t feel like my lap was very good,” said Hocevar.
Secure your spot today.
“I was getting to run another and I got through [Turn] 10 and they said ‘P1’.
“I was super happy with that, the lap time, but I didn’t think it was super amazing.”
SVG made this spin-out look smooth 😅😮💨 pic.twitter.com/csgIpNmBlq
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) June 27, 2026
Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports) was third ahead of Michael McDowell (Spire Motorsports) and Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing).
The third of the Trackhouse Racing drivers, Connor Zilisch, was 17th.
Qualifying was punctuated by several moments, including an off-track excursion for Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell.
However, it was 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace who had the biggest blue when he spun coming out of the high-speed third-to-last turn and into the concrete barrier.
Monday’s NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway begins at 5:30am AEST.
Results: NASCAR Cup Series Sonoma Raceway, Qualifying
| Pos | Num | Driver | Team | Time | Diff | Gap |
| 1 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | 74.829 | ||
| 2 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | 74.854 | 0.025 | -0.025 |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | 74.87 | -0.041 | -0.016 |
| 4 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | 74.877 | -0.048 | -0.007 |
| 5 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | 74.913 | -0.084 | -0.036 |
| 6 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | 74.914 | -0.085 | -0.001 |
| 7 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | 74.984 | -0.155 | -0.07 |
| 8 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | 75.045 | -0.216 | -0.061 |
| 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | 75.052 | -0.223 | -0.007 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | 75.085 | -0.256 | -0.033 |
| 11 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | 75.1 | -0.271 | -0.015 |
| 12 | 33 | Austin Hill(i) | Richard Childress Racing | 75.192 | -0.363 | -0.092 |
| 13 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | 75.359 | -0.53 | -0.167 |
| 14 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | 75.366 | -0.537 | -0.007 |
| 15 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | 75.384 | -0.555 | -0.018 |
| 16 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | 75.391 | -0.562 | -0.007 |
| 17 | 88 | Connor Zilisch # | Trackhouse Racing | 75.414 | -0.585 | -0.023 |
| 18 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | 75.541 | -0.712 | -0.127 |
| 19 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | 75.628 | -0.799 | -0.087 |
| 20 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | 75.64 | -0.811 | -0.012 |
| 21 | 7 | Daniel Suarez | Spire Motorsports | 75.737 | -0.908 | -0.097 |
| 22 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | 75.832 | -1.003 | -0.095 |
| 23 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | 75.838 | -1.009 | -0.006 |
| 24 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | 75.848 | -1.019 | -0.01 |
| 25 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | 75.878 | -1.049 | -0.03 |
| 26 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | 75.887 | -1.058 | -0.009 |
| 27 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | 75.923 | -1.094 | -0.036 |
| 28 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | 75.958 | -1.129 | -0.035 |
| 29 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | 76.08 | -1.251 | -0.122 |
| 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | 76.129 | -1.3 | -0.049 |
| 31 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | 76.292 | -1.463 | -0.163 |
| 32 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | 76.303 | -1.474 | -0.011 |
| 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | 76.534 | -1.705 | -0.231 |
| 34 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | 76.605 | -1.776 | -0.071 |
| 35 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | 76.631 | -1.802 | -0.026 |
| 36 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | 77.439 | -2.61 | -0.808 |
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