New Zealand’s Shane van Gisbergen produced a determined drive at Phoenix Raceway, fighting back from multiple setbacks to finish just outside the top ten in 11th place in the latest round of the NASCAR Cup Series.
The Kiwi qualified 18th for the race at the one-mile Arizona oval — a circuit Van Gisbergen has openly admitted he still struggles to master. Despite that, it marked his best qualifying result at Phoenix in the Cup Series, improving on previous starts of 29th and 31st. He arrived at the weekend sitting fifth in the drivers’ standings.
Pole position went to Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who rolled out with a special tribute livery honouring Scott McLaughlin’s 2019 Bathurst 1000 victory.
When the green flag dropped, Logano quickly asserted control at the front of the field ahead of Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez. Van Gisbergen made a solid start, gaining two positions in the opening laps to move into 16th by Lap 10.
Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch, who had qualified just behind the Kiwi in 19th for his Cup Series debut at Phoenix, slipped back through the field early and was running 24th by Lap 30. Meanwhile, Van Gisbergen continued to chip away at the order and climbed to 15th.
Up front, Logano continued to dominate the opening stage, but Blaney began closing rapidly and sat just three tenths behind with the pair holding a 2.6-second gap over the chasing pack. With 14 laps remaining in Stage 1, Blaney capitalised on lapped traffic to make his move, finding a lane around the outside to clear both the backmarkers and Logano to take the race lead.
Further back, Larson dropped to 13th after reporting a lack of grip, with Van Gisbergen just behind in 14th as Ty Gibbs broke into the top ten in ninth. Blaney went on to claim the Stage 1 victory.
Stage 2 began with Logano and Christopher Bell leading the field back to green, followed by Denny Hamlin, Blaney, Tyler Reddick and Gibbs. Van Gisbergen lined up 13th for the restart, just ahead of teammate Ross Chastain.
Drama soon unfolded during pit stops when Larson was penalised for speeding on pit exit, while Zilisch was handed a penalty for having too many crew members over the wall. At the front, Bell edged past Logano to take the lead, pushing Blaney into second.
Van Gisbergen’s race took a major hit on Lap 94 when he spun exiting Turn 4, leaving the Trackhouse driver with two flat tyres and bringing out a caution. After repairs, he rejoined the race a lap down in 36th position.
Bell eventually claimed the Stage 2 win ahead of Logano, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Cindric, Carson Hocevar, Reddick, Gibbs, Hamlin and Chase Elliott.
However, Van Gisbergen’s race was far from over. A crucial break came when Noah Gragson cut a right-front tyre in Turn 1 and crashed from 35th place, triggering a caution that allowed the Kiwi to receive the Lucky Dog and return to the lead lap.
Seizing the opportunity, Van Gisbergen surged back through the field and climbed to 20th before the final stage restart.
Bell and Wallace led the field away for the 127-lap final stage, with Bell once again taking command. Another caution soon followed with 100 laps remaining when Ryan Preece spun in Turn 1 after contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., while Zilisch narrowly avoided damage after being hooked in the incident.
By the time the race settled again with 80 laps to go, Van Gisbergen had worked his way up to 17th.
But further adversity struck with 65 laps remaining when Austin Dillon made contact with the rear of the Kiwi’s car, sending Van Gisbergen spinning and bringing out another caution.
The chaos continued shortly after, with 58 laps left, when AJ Allmendinger made contact with Logano entering Turn 1, triggering a multi-car accident that involved Dillon, Suarez, Elliott, Josh Berry and Van Gisbergen. Zilisch, Elliott and Van Gisbergen all headed to pit road for service under the caution.
Despite the setbacks, Van Gisbergen refused to give in. With 32 laps to go, he had climbed back to 22nd, still on the lead lap, and began another charge through the field in the closing stages.
Lap by lap, the Kiwi picked off positions, eventually crossing the line in an impressive 11th place, a remarkable recovery after two spins and involvement in a late-race incident.
At the front, Blaney secured victory at Phoenix Raceway, finishing ahead of Bell and Larson. Gibbs and Hamlin followed, with Wallace, William Byron, Reddick, Michael McDowell and Erik Jones completing the top ten.
For Van Gisbergen, the result was another strong sign of progress on oval tracks, particularly at a venue he has openly acknowledged remains one of his toughest challenges.
The NASCAR Cup Series now heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend, with the race scheduled for Monday, March 16 at 7am NZST.
Header Image: Trackhouse Racing
