SHANE van Gisbergen will start his second career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Watkins Glen International from eighth.
With his Niece Motorsport Chevrolet Silverado, a part-time entrant in the series, van Gisbergen was positioned in the first group for practice and qualifying, which is typically at the unfavourable end of the draw, with the track featuring wet verges.
Earlier in practice, he recorded the fourth-fastest time.
For the event, the team have built van Gisbergen a personalised truck to his tastes, in contrast to his debut in the class at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
“When I drove it at IRP, I remember the dash was in my knees, and I was hunched over,” said van Gisbergen.
“It was a really small cockpit. I guess they had a bit of a heads up, Cleetus (McFarland) drove there, so it’s already been set for a bigger guy.
“It’s cool customising everything, the steering, the pedals.
“They’ve made full custom pedals so I can right foot brake.
“It’s awesome the effort they are going through to make a fast truck.”
There are multiple drivers in the Truck Series this weekend, including van Gisbergen’s Trackhouse Racing stablemates – Connor Zilisch (qualified fifth) and Ross Chastain (33rd).
Elsewhere in the field are Cup Series drivers Carson Hocevar (10th) and AJ Allmendinger (16th).
Other notable Truck Series drivers include former Marcos Ambrose protégé Ben Rhodes (ninth) and Corey LaJoie (23rd).
The pole position for the race went to Brent Crews.
The race, which is set to start at 6:30am AEST, will be the shortest of the three NASCAR races contested this weekend, with stage breaks at laps 20 and 40, while the final leg is scheduled to conclude at 72 circuits.
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