Shane van Gisbergen overcame damage and a penalty to finish 28th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which ended on Lap 249 of 400 when a storm passed through the area.
Christopher Bell was leading at the time of the interruption and was credited with the race win ahead of Brad Keselowski and Will Byron.
With Kyle Larson running in a rain-delayed Indy 500, Justin Allgaier started the race in the Hendrick Motorsports #5, with the intention to hand over to the 2021 Cup Series upon his arrival in North Carolina.
Larson left Indianapolis by helicopter moments after he crossed the line in 18th and arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway less than two hours later, with a nurse onboard the flight on hand to administer IV fluids during transport.
However, the trip was made in vain, with the helicopter landing just as the weather worsened, and the race was red-flagged, with Allgaier in 13th.
Van Gisbergen started the 600-mile race from 36th and remained thereabouts over the opening stage, losing a lap to the leaders during an extended period of clean running.
It took until Lap 87 for the first caution to eventuate, with the three-time Supercars champion returning to the lead lap by remaining out whilst the leaders all stopped.
He would stop a few tours later at the end of the opening stage, where he greeted the Lap 100 green and white chequered in 31st.
Van Gisbergen would stop early in the window in the second stage and was in again during a Lap 157 caution when Ryan Blaney stopped in pit lane. However, he was penalised for driving through too many boxes during the latter and sent to the back of the field for the restart.
Kaulig Racing opted not to stop the Kiwi entry at the next caution on Lap 172 when Noah Gragson.
He took the restart in 17th but dropped back to end the stage in 28th, having reported steering damage to his team from earlier contact with Harrison Burton.
Corey LeJoie crashed on Lap 224, bringing the first Stage 3 caution. At the time of the yellow, van Gisbergen had climbed to 25th from 32nd.
Just ten more laps of racing were possible before the yellows came out with the first drops of rain and lightning reported, and the caution was quickly upgraded to a red flag as the conditions worsened.
Van Gisbergen was 28th at the time and on the lead lap.
His next NASCAR Cup Series outing comes at a familiar venue, the Chicago Street Course, where he made history and won on his debut in 2023. The Chicago Street Race takes place on July 7.
A Road Course outing awaits van Gisbergen in the Xfinity Series next weekend as teams travel to Portland International Raceway.
Header Image: Shane van Gisbergen (Facebook)
