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Shane van Gisbergen paces issue-filled practice session in Chicago
Trackhouse Racing driver Shane Van Gisbergen. Henry Romero/Reuters via Imagn Images

Shane van Gisbergen paces issue-filled Xfinity Series practice session in Chicago

Shane van Gisbergen started off his double-duty weekend on the streets of Chicago by pacing Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series practice session. 

Van Gisbergen's fastest-lap of 91.328 seconds was enough to edge Connor Zilisch for the top spot in practice. Van Gisbergen is the defending winner of the Xfinity Series race in Chicago, and he also won the Cup Series race in Chicago in 2023. 

Zilisch, Sam Mayer, Jack Perkins and Sammy Smith rounded out the top-five, with Austin Hill, Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love and Carson Kvapil completing the top-10. 

Other notable practice results include Atlanta winner Nick Sanchez in 11th, Taylor Gray in 15th, Harrison Burton in 23rd, Jeb Burton in 32nd and Dean Thompson in 33rd. 

Zilisch, Creed and several other drivers encountered issues throughout practice. Zilisch and Christian Eckes suffered major damage after accidents, while engine issues bit the No. 53 of Sage Karam and the No. 42 of Anthony Alfredo. 

Creed spun in practice, while Kris Wright also was involved in an incident. 

Xfinity Series qualifying is next on the CW App. The Loop 110 will go green shortly after 4:30 p.m. ET, with coverage on the CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. 

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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