Crew members push the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, driven by Chase Elliott in the garage area during a weather delay of practice for the NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. Image: Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Through a metric devised by NASCAR, the starting grid for the Cup Series race was determined by combining owners’ points, a driver’s finishing position in the preceding race, and his fastest lap time in that race to rank the teams and establish a lineup when qualifying is not possible.
Based on van Gisbergen’s recent success at Sonoma, that will mean he begins Monday’s race from the third row.
Taking to social media, van Gisbergen joked: “PB oval qualifying.”
Chase Elliott was awarded pole position in the #9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro alongside the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry of Chase Briscoe.
Van Gisbergen will be joined on the third row by championship points leader William Byron in the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro.
NASCAR and its tyre supplier Goodyear brought new rubber to Dover that will go untested by the field going into the 400-lap race
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“Brand new tyre or not, practice is always important,’’ Larson said.
“I wouldn’t deny that we’re in a slump, results kind of show that, but I think some of it has been a little bit out of our control and some of it is execution with a car that’s been a little bit off on speed.
“But confidence in our #5 team is strong and hopefully we can turn it around at Dover.”
The NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway gets underway at 4:17am AEST with coverage live on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.
Starting Grid: NASCAR Cup Series, Dover Motor Speedway
PosNumDriverTeam19Chase ElliottHendrick Motorsports219Chase BriscoeJoe Gibbs Racing320Christopher BellJoe Gibbs Racing445Tyler Reddick23X Racing524William ByronHendrick Motorsports688Shane Van Gisbergen #Trackhouse Racing771Michael McDowellSpire Motorsports822Joey LoganoTeam Penske954Ty GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing108Kyle BuschRichard Childress Racing1160Ryan PreeceRFK Racing1217Chris BuescherRFK Racing1311Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing1421Josh BerryWood Brothers Racing156Brad KeselowskiRFK Racing1648Alex BowmanHendrick Motorsports1716AJ AllmendingerKaulig Racing1899Daniel SuarezTrackhouse Racing191Ross ChastainTrackhouse Racing207Justin HaleySpire Motorsports2110Ty DillonKaulig Racing2223Bubba Wallace23XI Racing233Austin DillonRichard Childress Racing2434Todd GillilandFront Row Motorsports255Kyle LarsonHendrick Motorsports262Austin CindricTeam Penske2743Erik JonesLegacy Motor Club2842John Hunter NemechekLegacy Motor Club2941Cole CusterHaas Factory Team3038Zane SmithFront Row Motorsports3112Ryan BlaneyTeam Penske3235Riley Herbst #23XI Racing3377Carson HocevarSpire Motorsports3447Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Hyak Motorsports3551Cody WareRick Ware Racing364Noah GragsonFront Row Motorsports3744JJ Yeley(i)NY Racing Team