Shane van Gisbergen finished a respectable 18th in his debut appearance at Bristol Motor Speedway in this morning’s Xfinity Series race.
The Kiwi qualified 34th for the race and went a lap down on Lap 42. He recovered his lap through the Lucky Dog ruling when the next caution followed shortly after.
Once back on the lead lap, the three-time Xfinity Series race winner made steady progress and gradually worked his way forward, eventually dropping off the lead lap in the closing stages on his way to 18th.
A come-from-behind victory for Cole Custer, who suffered a puncture on Lap 2, brought a 46-point swing in the championship standings, leading Justin Allgaier to miss out.
Allgaier entered the season finale with the regular season title seeming all but wrapped up, with a 43-point advantage over Custer, the reigning Xfinity Series champion.
He led the opening stage to further cement his claim to the bonus 15 playoff points as the regular season winner, only to get clipped by a spinning Austin Green on Lap 52, which damaged the rear of his car.
Amazingly, despite losing his rear bumper, Allgaier remained in contention until he came together with Sheldon Creed near the end of stage 2, with the contact sending him spinning into the inside wall.
The 2023 runner-up would finish the race, albeit ten laps off the pace, and in 30th.
His misfortunes opened the door for Custer to steal the title in the final stage of the regular season, and the 26-year-old did just that, leading 104 of the race’s 300 laps on his way to victory.
Creed finished as runner-up for the sixth time this season, with Chandler Smith completing the top three.
Eight drivers, including van Gisbergen, qualified for the playoffs through wins in 2024, leaving the remaining four spots to be decided on points. AJ Allmendinger and Creed were guaranteed their positions before the event, while Parker Kligerman and Sammy Smith were left on the bubble.
A point for Kligerman to end Stage 2 assured his berth, while Smith scraped through after finishing the race in 15th, leaving Ryan Sieg to miss out narrowly despite finishing eighth.
Despite missing out on the regular-season title, Allgaier enters the post-season as the top seed, six points ahead of Custer.
Van Gisbergen is the fifth seed and 10 points outside the cutoff zone.
The 12 playoff contenders will be reduced to eight following the next three rounds, which include an oval outing at Kansas Speedway next weekend, Talladega Superspeedway a week later, and the Charlotte Roval (road course) on October 12.
Header Image: James Gilbert/ Getty Images (Supplied NASCAR)
