Shane van Gisbergen knows road courses.
He has won seven of the first 13 NASCAR Cup races he has contested on road and temporary street courses.
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So, the 37-year-old New Zealander seemed the perfect driver to start with Friday when trying to determine the degree of difficulty of the 3.4-mile, 16-turn temporary road course at Naval Base Coronado hosting this weekend’s historic NASCAR San Diego races.
“Trouble spots?” van Gisbergen said. “Start at Turn 1 and count to 16. Every corner looks difficult. I don’t think it’s possible to have a perfect lap here. It’s going to be really hard to execute.”
Which is why van Gisbergen was upset Friday when it was once again noted that he is the odds-on favorite heading into Sunday’s featured 255-mile race for NASCAR’s premier Cup Series cars.
“That upsets me a bit,” van Gisbergen said. “It’s not fair to me and it disrespects the competition, which is really good. Ten guys can win this race. I don’t think it will be easy for anyone, for sure.”
After Friday’s 50-minute practice session — the Cup cars’ only time on the track before Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race — drivers were united in their concerns about the multi-surface circuit’s lack of grip, tight walls and fears of a high attrition rate in Sunday’s 75-lap feature.
“I feel like the limit here is always being on the edge of it,” said Carson Hocevar. “Seventy-five laps is a long way to go here without a mistake. Every corner is a concern of mine. I don’t want to be part of the attrition. I don’t want to take myself out of it.”
Friday’s practice produced some unexpected results.
Van Gisbergen was not the fastest car. In fact, his Chevrolet Camaro was eighth among the 39 entrants. He broke off one practice run after six laps due to tire wear.
The top practice speed was posted by two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, whose Hendrick Motorsports Chevy turned a lap in 136.588 seconds, an average of 89.613 mph. When last seen, Larson was doing burnouts and donuts on the flight deck of the Midway Museum Thursday during a pre-race function.
Todd Gilliland’s Ford Mustang was a surprise No. 2 at 89.421 mph, followed by Ty Gibbs’ Toyota (89.393), the Camaro of van Gisbergen’s 19-year-old Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch (89.369), Hocevar (89.342), Corey Heim (89.318), Watkins Glen runner-up Michael McDowell (89.158) and van Gisbergen (89.135).
Some of NASCAR’s top names struggled.
Points leader Tyler Reddick, who many see as the top threat to van Gisbergen, was no better than 11th in practice at 88.774 mph. Three-time series champion Joey Logano was 12th (88.772). Denny Hamlin, who is seeking a fourth straight win at Coronado, although street and road courses are not his strong suit, was 14th at 88.680.
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Daniel Suarez was 33rd (87.621), and seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was 38th among the 39 entrants (86.468).
But none of Friday’s speeds carry forward. The field will be set during a one-hour qualifying session starting at 11:30 Saturday morning.
“Tonight is a full study night,” said van Gisbergen, who will be among the first qualifying group Saturday. “It’s important to be as close to the front of the field as possible in this race.”
Several things caught the Cup drivers by surprise Friday, including the fact that the true lap times weren’t as fast as times produced on the course simulators. The cars also got airborne coming down a hill leading into Turn 2. And the difference in surface conditions caused problems.
“There are five different surfaces on one track,” said Gibbs. “I was sliding around a lot. When you are sliding around, you’re killing the tires. And if you slide too far off line, there are a lot of marbles that want to carry you into more trouble.”
“The risk versus reward here is off the charts,” said van Gisbergen.
Said Reddick: “Our approach at the start of the race will be fairly conservative, because the implications of making a mistake are huge. Drivers and crews will have to be very calculated. The walls are very close and they don’t seem to be perfectly placed.”
The biggest points of impact Friday seemed to be the outside of the Turn 16 wall entering the main straight and the Turn 5 and Turn 6 complex.
“One thing caught my eye on my first lap on the track,” said Reddick. “The aircraft carrier (Carl Vinson).”
Before the Cup practice, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series cars held their only practice session with Austin Green posting the fastest lap at 90.330 mph, which was faster than the top Cup car. Brent Crews was No. 2 (90.158) followed by season points leader Austin Hill (89.845). El Cajon’s Sheldon Creed was No. 7 89.235).
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The O’Reilly Series cars qualify and race Saturday.
United Rentals 250
What: NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Length: 204 miles (60 laps; Stages of 15, 15, 30 laps)
TV: The CW
Other key Saturday event: NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.