On Sunday, Shane van Gisbergen won his first NASCAR race in his very first attempt by putting on a show during the final few laps of the race on the Chicago street track.
The three-time champion of the Australian Supercars series outperformed everyone else in the final circuits of the race and took the lead from Justin Haley with five laps still to go in order to win. Van Gisbergen held the lead immediately after a yellow came out with fewer than 10 laps to go for a collision that was caused by Martin Truex Jr., but NASCAR decided that the pass wasn’t complete when the caution came out, therefore Van Gisbergen lost the lead.
Van Gisbergen then had to maintain his position for a restart with green, white, and checkered flags, and he did not face any competition from Haley or Chase Elliott, who finished in third place. Van Gisbergen won the race by more than a second and pulled away from Haley in the final two circuits to win the race.
The final 20 circuits of the race provided ample opportunity for Van Gisbergen to demonstrate his mastery of the street course. He had no trouble making his way to the head of the pack and opened a distance between himself and Haley as soon as he had passed him. Since Johnny Rutherford’s victory at Daytona in 1963, he is the first driver to win his first Cup Series appearance after he had taken the checkered flag.
“Wow, when we had that… strategy back to 18th I started to worry a bit but had some full stands on some people, and the racing was really good, everyone was respectful,” he added. “Wow, when we had that… strategy back to 18th I started to worry a bit but had some full stands on some people.” “It was challenging, but a great deal of fun.”
Can’t believe it, to win a @NASCAR race with @TeamTrackhouse that’s a dream come true!!! Thanks @JustinMarksTH for having me along with @THProject91! 😀🏆 pic.twitter.com/cYsflnXwxB
— Shane van Gisbergen (@shanevg97) July 3, 2023
Who is Shane van Gisbergen?
In 2016, 2021, and 2022, Van Gisbergen was crowned the champion of the Australian Supercars series. The New Zealand native, who is now 34 years old, has won 79 times in Supercars and is the fourth-winningest driver in the history of the series.
He is one of just three drivers to have triumphed in all three of Bathurst’s major races, the Bathurst 1000, the Bathurst 6 Hour, and the Bathurst 12 Hour. To put it more succinctly, he is one of the finest drivers in the history of the Australian Supercars and was more than worthy of getting a crack in NASCAR.
Because Trackhouse Racing was running its Project 91 program on Sunday, he competed in the event. Since 2022, the team has participated in some races with the No. 91 vehicle, and the race in Chicago was the No. 91 car’s third start overall. Prior to that, Kimi Raikkonen had driven the car just once in 2022 and once at Circuit of the Americas in 2023.
After Raikkonen finished 37th at Watkins Glen and 29th at COTA this year, Project 91 appeared to be more of a curiosity than anything else in his starts. However, it is abundantly evident that Trackhouse have a competitive car that is paired with the appropriate driver and circuit. And van Gisbergen exemplified the epitome of sophistication off the field on Sunday.
The victory is the second for the Trackhouse Racing team this season and the fifth overall in the history of Trackhouse Racing. A week ago, Ross Chastain took first place in Nashville.
A thrilling battle for the top spot! @shanevg97 gets past @Justin_Haley_! #NASCARChicago pic.twitter.com/sTj3iBoIBt
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 3, 2023
The race had to be postponed due to the weather
As rain pummeled the city and forced the Cup Series race to be delayed, NASCAR was staring down the barrel of a terrible Chicago weekend. The Xfinity Series race that was scheduled to take place on Saturday was moved to Sunday because it did not make it to the halfway point before lightning was spotted in the area of the circuit. But because of the relentless rain on Sunday, the race was unable to be restarted at any point, and so NASCAR employed a clause in the code that is not very well known to make the race official before it reached the halfway point.
On Sunday, July 2, the Chicago region had a rainfall total that set a new record for the day, and as a result, the temporary street circuit in Grant Park had standing water in many spots. Around 5 o’clock Central Time, the rain began to let up, and NASCAR deliberated for a while before deciding to start the race on a wet course. During the whole duration of the race, the track never completely dried out.
That turned out to be the best course of action, despite the fact that the sanctioning organization had to cut the original 100-lap race down to 75 laps in order to get it over with before sunset. As a result of the green-white-checker finish, there were a total of 78 laps run throughout the race. Due to the fact that Haley and Elliott pitted sooner than the other competitors, they were placed at the front of the field when the decision was made to abbreviate the race. However, the pace that van Gisbergen displayed over the penultimate lap was in excess of the track position that they had earned.
FAQs
Q1. How did Shane van Gisbergen go in Nascar?
Chicago street racing rookie Shane van Gisbergen wins his first race in the NASCAR Cup series. Supercars legend Shane van Gisbergen won the NASCAR Cup Series’ first-ever street race on a wet Sunday in downtown Chicago, giving fans a thrilling climax to the season.
