Fantasy Update: Shane van Gisbergen stands out in first day in Cup Series car

Forgive my ignorance, but Shane van Gisbergen is a beast on street courses. The three-time Supercars champion was quickest in his first practice session in the Cup Series and backed it up by running the third-fastest time in qualifying — notably, as the quickest Chevrolet. Keep van Gisbergen in mind when making your lineup for Sunday’s Chicago Street Race (5 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Dustin Albino‘s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: AJ Allmendinger

Starter 2: Michael McDowell

Starter 3: Shane van Gisbergen

Starter 4: Daniel Suárez

Starter 5: Tyler Reddick

Garage pick: Denny Hamlin

NEXT IN LINE: Jenson Button, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch

MORE: Fantasy Fastlane | Set your lineup

RISING: It might have been three weeks ago, but practice and qualifying for the Chicago Street Race feels eerily familiar to Sonoma’s sessions. There, Denny Hamlin won the pole, had a bad pit stop and made a late mistake in the race and wrecked out. Tyler Reddick also started second, which is where he will take the green flag on Sunday. After winning the pole, Hamlin stated it was the best single day he‘s had during a race weekend throughout his career. That says a lot, given this is his 18th full-time season.

While van Gisbergen might be getting a lot of the attention from Trackhouse Racing entries due to his first-weekend success, Suárez had a solid Saturday as well. The No. 99 Chevrolet was 11th-quickest in practice on single-lap speed and 10-lap averages. Entering Chicago on the playoff elimination line, a good run here would likely distance himself from 17th position.

FALLING: After practice, Chase Elliott told the Motor Racing Network (MRN) that his car wasn‘t “even close enough to start complaining” about it. In qualifying, he moved over to follow van Gisbergen, hoping to get a quick lap. By the end of the lap, he clipped the outside wall and ricocheted into the inside wall. The No. 9 team has been known to be top-in-class on road courses, but thus far, street courses have been a struggle.

With the lack of speed Austin Cindric — and Team Penske — showed at Sonoma, the 2020 Xfinity Series champion tabbed it as a one-week rarity on a road course. Welp, unfortunately for Cindric, the No. 2 team had an absence of speed again in Chicago. To make things worse, he wrecked in practice. Going into the week he was labeled as one of the drivers to watch due to his street-racing background, but he was 31st in both practice and qualifying.

FEATURED MATCHUPS:

Ross Chastain vs. Austin Cindric

For as bad of a weekend Cindric has had so far, Chastain‘s has been nearly just as difficult. The Nashville winner will take the green flag from 34th and looked uncomfortable with his car throughout practice and qualifying. It‘s likely the No. 1 team will lean on its teammates to figure out the correct setup, but as of now, stick with Cindric here, even though he had significant right-front damage.

AJ Allmendinger vs. Daniel Suárez

This is an interesting one. Suárez outpaced Allmendinger in practice and qualifying, but it‘s hard to bet against experience. Allmendinger, the two-time road course winner at the Cup level, has the most experience on street courses of full-time Cup drivers. Per usual when making left- and right-hand turns, the thought is he will be in the mix on Sunday.

Chase Elliott vs. Tyler Reddick

Reddick all the way. Seeing Elliott make a mistake and clip the wall in practice — resulting in a backup car — is a rarity, especially on tracks like the Chicago Street Course. But it happened, and Reddick will start on the opposite side of the field from the second position. Reddick said after qualifying that he has had to change his tendencies compared to road courses where he overdrives the corner. In Chicago, you can‘t do that, or an accident will ensue. Go with the No. 45 car.

Kyle Larson vs. Martin Truex Jr.

Compared to one another, the Nos. 5 and 19 cars were similar. That makes this a deadlock entering Sunday. Particularly, Toyota looked to have the edge over Chevrolet, so that‘s where I‘m going here. Truex was also second-quickest on a 10-lap run.