Shane van Gisbergen avoided an early multi-car incident, an issue with his left rear and climbed back from a mid-race drop to 26th to provisionally finish 11th in today’s Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
After falling from just outside the top ten to near the rear of the field, the Kiwi continued to pick cars off and was tenth when a caution, the race’s tenth, was called on lap 243 of 250.
He chose the inside line to lose places on the restart before coming home in 11th when a mid-field collision brought out another yellow after the white flag had been shown.
Aric Almirola prevailed in a thrilling battle for the lead to take the win from Sam Mayer and Chandler Smith.
Van Gisbergen had earlier started well from 19th and was up to 17th when the first caution was called on Lap 9 following a spin for Dexter Bean.
He went on to drop to 20th off the restart before gaining a position on Lap 35 under yellow when the field split strategies following a crash for Hailie Deegan.
Almirola would win the opening 60-lap stage over Sheldon Creed, Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, and AJ Allmendinger.
The Kiwi retained 19th at the restart of Stage 2, having stopped under yellow, and instantly moved up the order after a large crash took out several contenders on the outside lane.
Brandon Jones missed a gear entering Turn 1 near the front of the field, condensing the lane into nose-to-tail contact that impacted 12 cars, bringing out a red flag.
The incident happened ahead of van Gisbergen, who had taken the restart on the inside, and he hugged the inside wall of Turn 1 to climb to 14th before the intervention.
Due to damage, Parker Retzlaff, Allmendinger, Corey Heim, Austin Hill and Kyle Weatherman were forced out of the race.
The Kaulig Racing #97 dropped to 17th before the next caution when Parker Kligerman spun and gained two positions on the run to the green and white chequered to end the stage 15th.
Justin Allgaier won Stage 2 with a late pass over Sammy Smith, with both cars working to the front, having started near the rear.
A good stop saw van Gisbergen begin the 130-lap run to the flag on the fringes of the top ten but on the outside row. He was hung wide as the inside lane worked through and lost further ground when Jeb Burton bumped him off-line.
The drop continued until he was 26th, with 110 laps to go.
The Kiwi got to work and began to pick off cars one by one and was back in the top 20 on Lap 169 of 250, right as a caution was required for debris on the circuit.
The field came in for a round of stops, with van Gisbergen returning to 19th on the inside lane. He climbed to 17th on the restart and remained there at the next interruption when Garrett Smithley was tagged into a spin on Lap 197.
Up front, Almirola kept Creed and Chandler Smith at bay on resumption.
Van Gisbergen was presented with the opportunity to return serve on Burton, and a light bump on the rear of the #27 allowed the Kiwi through to take 15th, and he made quick work of Ryan Sieg shortly after to climb to 14th.
Almirola built a significant lead on the run to the flag, but his gains were wiped when Sieg spun into the wall, triggering the race’s ninth caution.
Chandler Smith took the lead off the restart but ran wide, exiting Turn 2 the following lap following a bump from Almirola, putting the #20 back in the lead.
Mayer quickly pounced, however, and took the top position on Lap 243 moments before yet another caution for a multi-car collision in the mid-field, with Burton spinning from contact. Matt DiBenedetto, Sieg and Jeremy Clements were also caught out.
Van Gisbergen had climbed to 10th off the previous restart but dropped back to choose a spot on the inside lane for the restart.
With the white flag shown, the Kiwi was unable to make the final places back, with a crash for Riley Herbst ending the race early.
Creed bumped Mayer at the restart, which saw the trio run three-wide for the lead through turns one and two. Almirola prevailed on the outside to take the win, as the yellow was shown.
Mayer held on for second, with Chandler Smith completing the top three.
The Xfinity Series returns next weekend with an oval outing at Texas Motor Speedway.
Header Image: Kaulig Racing
