Starting Lineup: 2026 NCS Anduril 250 at San Diego

Shane van Gisbergen (no surprise) paced the field in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Naval Base Coronado, and he’ll lead the field to the green flag in Sunday’s Anduril 250. This is SVG’s sixth career NASCAR Cup Series pole position.

While it was no surprise to the majority of us within the industry that van Gisbergen will start from the pole driving his No. 97 Red Bull Chevrolet, the driver admitted he was a bit shocked that he scored the pole.

“A little bit, yeah. I thought the track would be better, and I thought people would execute a bit better,” van Gisbergen explained. “But, as I said, it’s just so difficult, there are three or four corners you’re seeing for the first time of the day, and it’s on your heater. Amazing.”

What van Gisbergen said next should instill fear in the hearts of the competition over night in San Diego.

“Yeah, I guess the Red Bull Chevrolet is really good,” van Gisbergen said. “Thank you to Trackhouse for doing a great job from yesterday, and just need to get the driver better.”

If van Gisbergen, who slightly scraped a concrete barrier with the right side of his car during qualifying, feels he is the weakest link in the No. 97 team’s game this weekend, the Anduril 250 could be game over before we even make it through Stage 1 on Sunday afternoon.

Carson Hocevar will lineup alongside SVG on the front row on the initial start of Sunday’s San Diego Street Race.

Ryan Blaney, Zane Smith, and Todd Gilliland rounded out the top-five fastest drivers in Cup Series qualifying.

Capping out the top-10 qualifiers were Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, Connor Zilisch, Michael McDowell, and Austin Hill.

Tyler Reddick, who is typically one of the best road racers in the NASCAR Cup Series ranks, struggled in the qualifying session, as he could only muster a 17th-place qualifying effort. To add insult to injury, Reddick spun and nosed into a tire barrier on his final lap in qualifying.

Fortunately, it looked like he was able to avoid severe damage to his No. 45 PALA Casino Toyota.

Photo: James Gilbert/Getty Images

Anduril 250 Starting Lineup