Just days after making history with back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series street course victories, Shane van Gisbergen was back behind the wheel in very different machinery, this time alongside fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin for the latest rounds of the Cook Out Summer Shootout Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Driving for Joe Ryan Race Cars under the Team SSR banner, the New Zealand pair returned to complete Round 6 of the US Legend Car Series Pro Division, postponed last week due to weather, and then backed it up for Round 7 under the lights.
Round 6 resumed with the 25-lap A-Feature picking up where it left off. Jensen Jorgensen led from pole with Jake Bollman alongside, while Van Gisbergen and McLaughlin rolled off deeper in the field, SVG starting 12th and McLaughlin 11th.
Jorgensen quickly established control at the front, while Van Gisbergen wasted no time slicing through the pack. Within three laps, he’d passed McLaughlin and moved into eighth. McLaughlin, meanwhile, found himself in a tight mid-pack battle, tagging the back of London McKenzie while trying to work his way forward.
SVG pressed on, picking off positions steadily and climbing to sixth by the halfway point. But the race’s first caution interrupted the flow when Matt Crafton hooked McLaughlin’s rear bumper, sending both cars into a spin and bringing them to a stop in Turn 4. After a delay to untangle the cars, both rejoined at the tail of the field.
The restart shuffled the order, but it was still Jorgensen out front. Another caution followed after Keelan Harvick and Bubba Wallace became entangled and slid off track together. This time, Van Gisbergen found himself on the front row for the restart alongside Jorgensen.
SVG gave chase over the final laps, gradually reeling in the leader, but Jorgensen held firm under pressure to take the win. Van Gisbergen crossed the line second, his best finish in the series so far, while McLaughlin recovered from his earlier incident to finish sixth.
With Round 6 in the books, it was straight into qualifying for Round 7. A light-hearted bet was in play between the Kiwis and Wallace; whoever qualified best would have lunch on the others.
McLaughlin came out on top, qualifying sixth with a 17.403s lap, ahead of SVG in eighth (17.420s), and Wallace 12th (17.544s).
The 25-lap A-Feature began under lights, with Daniel Wilk and Tyler Reif leading the field. McLaughlin and Van Gisbergen lined up on the outside lane in sixth and eighth, respectively, with SVG right behind his teammate.
Wilk led early, but it was Bollman who made the first big move, taking the lead with 18 laps to go.
Behind them, SVG stalked McLaughlin closely, faster through the corners but unable to pass on the straights. Wallace’s race ended early when he returned to the pits with mechanical issues.
A caution came with 11 laps to go when Sean McElearney stopped on track. SVG restarted in ninth, just behind McLaughlin in seventh, but drama struck on the restart when SVG clipped the back of his teammate, lost rear grip due to a fluid leak on the track, and spun at Turn 2. He visited the pits for checks but was able to rejoin at the rear in 16th.
A few laps later, another caution flew as Wilk spun McKenzie down the back straight, forcing evasive action from SVG and Martin Gatzulis. With eight laps left, Van Gisbergen had climbed to ninth, directly behind McLaughlin.
In the final laps, the Team SSR duo ran nose-to-tail, pushing toward the top five. Reif led the way up front and took the win, ahead of Bollman and Danny Chisholm. Harvick finished fourth, Joel Smith in fifth, while McLaughlin edged out Van Gisbergen for sixth by just 0.276 seconds.
After a run of steady improvement, Van Gisbergen’s second-place finish in Round 6 showed just how quickly he’s adapting to the unique demands of legend car racing. McLaughlin continues to deliver consistent results and a strong pace of his own, as the pair use the Summer Shootout as not only some fun downtime between friends but a valuable development platform on U.S. short ovals.
US Legend action is set to resume at Round 8 on Wednesday, 16th July at 10 am (NZST)
Header Image: John Davison
