Concord, N.C. — Shane van Gisbergen will lead the field to the green flag for Saturday afternoon's race at the Charlotte Roval.
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Van Gisbergen posted the fastest lap at the part oval/part road course as he won the pole for the third time this season. He completed his lap in 84.523 seconds.
The last two races where van Gisbergen started from the pole were at Sonoma Raceway and on the streets of Chicago. He won both races. The New Zealand native also won at Portland International Raceway after starting second.
Sam Mayer, the defending Roval winner, qualified second with a lap of 84.731 seconds. AJ Allmendinger (84.814 seconds), Josh Bilicki (85.273 seconds), and Sheldon Creed (85.280 seconds) rounded out the top five.
MORE: Shane van Gisbergen leads Xfinity Roval lineup
Van Gisbergen, Mayer, Allmendinger, and Creed are all playoff drivers. Four other drivers who are still in contention for a spot in the Round of 8 qualified inside the top 10.
Austin Hill qualified sixth with a lap of 85.337 seconds while Chandler Smith qualified seventh with a lap of 85.398 seconds. Jesse Love in eighth (85.430 seconds) and Justin Allgaier in ninth (85.722 seconds) were the other two playoff drivers in the top 10.
The other playoff drivers in the field are Riley Herbst in 12th (85.701 seconds), Cole Custer in 14th (85.779 seconds), Sammy Smith in 16th (85.796 seconds), and Parker Kligerman in 22nd (86.111 seconds).
Qualifying 16th is less of a concern for Sammy. He has a secure spot in the Round of 8 after winning last weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway. Similarly, the other Smith has his spot in the next round after scoring enough points at Kansas and Talladega.
The rest of the playoff drivers will enter Saturday's elimination race in far less comfortable positions. Only six drivers will join the Smiths in the Round of 8. The remaining four drivers will be eliminated from championship contention.
The command to fire engines will take place Saturday at 3:58 p.m. ET. The green flag to start the playoff race will wave at 4:10 p.m. ET.
