Shane van Gisbergen’s hopes of progressing to The Chase finals have come to an end in dramatic fashion at Daytona International Speedway, with Ryan Preece winning the regular-season finale to take the final spot.
Van Gisbergen entered the 160-lap race with a 31-point advantage over Preece and looked to have strengthened his position after avoiding a late Stage 1 crash to take the stage victory.
However, the race turned in the closing stages, with Preece finding himself at the front when a multi-car crash brought the race to an end under caution. The victory was the first of Preece’s NASCAR Cup Series career and enough to move him ahead of Van Gisbergen, who finished 27th.
With no practice at Daytona and just a single qualifying lap, Van Gisbergen had started the race from sixth in the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.
Trackhouse teammate Ross Chastain started from pole alongside Chris Buescher, while Austin Hill and Preece shared the second row. Riley Herbst and Van Gisbergen followed, with Connor Zilisch, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson completing the top 10.
Chastain initially controlled the opening stage, but the running order quickly changed as the field worked the draft.
Larson charged from 10th to second within the opening two laps before challenging Chastain for the lead. Van Gisbergen also joined the battle, briefly making it three-wide for the top spot between Larson and his Trackhouse teammate.
Austin Hill had moved into the lead by the halfway point of the 35-lap opening stage, with Larson, Buescher and Preece close behind. Van Gisbergen remained firmly in the lead group in seventh.
The race for stage points intensified over the closing laps as the field began changing lanes and the leading pack broke clear.
Buescher moved to the front with two laps remaining, ahead of Preece and Larson, while Van Gisbergen sat fifth and within striking distance. It proved to be the right place at the right time for the Kiwi.
Buescher, Preece and Larson tangled as they approached the white flag, sending cars spinning as Van Gisbergen avoided the incident and emerged at the front.
He went on to claim the Stage 1 victory and 10 valuable points, with Ty Gibbs, Logano, Erik Jones and Chase Briscoe among those following him across the line.
Van Gisbergen reported during the stage break that the rear of his Chevrolet felt uneasy, prompting the No. 97 crew to adjust the air pressure while fitting fresh tyres and adding fuel.
He lined up alongside Logano for the beginning of the 60-lap second stage but gradually slipped back as the bottom lane lost momentum.
Van Gisbergen was sixth after 14 laps before dropping outside the top 10 for the first time in the race around lap 58. The Trackhouse driver found himself around the middle of the pack for much of the remainder of the stage while Preece remained in contention towards the front.
Van Gisbergen began making progress again over the closing laps and was up to 11th with two remaining, battling Larson for the final points-paying position.
His lane lost momentum on the run to the finish, however, leaving him 12th as Ryan Blaney claimed the Stage 2 victory. Preece finished second to collect another nine stage points and keep the pressure on Van Gisbergen heading into the final stage. Strategy then sent the Kiwi to the rear of the field.
Van Gisbergen returned to pit road to top up with fuel shortly before the restart, leaving him 37th for the beginning of the 65-lap run to the finish.
He quickly began working his way back through the field and had climbed to 18th after 14 laps.
With 29 laps remaining, Van Gisbergen had completed the recovery and was back up to sixth, while Preece had dropped to 18th.
The complexion of the race changed again when the leading cars began making their final fuel stops. Van Gisbergen and Preece both returned towards the top 10 as the strategies played out, setting up a tense final run with the last Chase position still on the line.
With six laps remaining, Carson Hocevar crashed heavily into the wall and collected Jones, bringing out another caution and sending the race towards overtime.
Van Gisbergen pitted for fuel and tyres under the caution, dropping him back to 27th for the restart. Zane Smith and Preece led the field back to green for a three-lap dash to the finish. Smith initially held the advantage, with Preece tucked in behind as the field charged towards the white flag.
The decisive moment came in Turn 2 when Smith moved to block Tyler Reddick and was sent sideways, triggering a multi-car crash as the field raced towards the finish.
Preece escaped the incident and emerged with the lead on the backstretch, while further contact behind involved Ryan Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Van Gisbergen was also caught up in a separate multi-car crash further back in the field during the final-lap chaos, bringing his race to a messy conclusion after spending much of the night in contention.
The caution was thrown with Preece ahead of Daniel Suarez, bringing the race to an end and handing Preece his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory.
More importantly, the win secured Preece the final position in The Chase finals, knocking Van Gisbergen out despite the Kiwi entering Daytona with a 31-point cushion above the cutoff line and winning Stage 1.
Van Gisbergen was ultimately classified 27th. The NASCAR Cup Series now heads to Darlington Raceway next weekend, with the race scheduled to begin at 9:00am NZST on Monday, September 7.
Header Image: NASCAR
