Shane Van Gisbergen has continued his push towards the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, equalling his career-best result on an oval with a fifth-place finish at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
After qualifying was washed out by rain, NASCAR’s metric formula placed the Kiwi eighth on the starting grid. Fresh off a third-place finish in Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series race with Spire Motorsports, Van Gisbergen headed into the Cup race with valuable track time and confidence.
Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell led the field to the green flag, with Gibbs taking the early lead over Bell, Carson Hocevar and Erik Jones. Van Gisbergen settled into eighth in the opening laps as the race unfolded.
The first caution came on Lap 40 of the opening 80-lap stage when John Hunter Nemechek spun after contact with Zane Smith. Most of the leaders, including Van Gisbergen, took the opportunity to pit.
A quick stop vaulted the Trackhouse Racing driver to fourth, and an excellent restart saw him jump to second behind Denny Hamlin. Just four laps later, Van Gisbergen challenged Hamlin side-by-side before completing the pass for the race lead.
The Kiwi controlled the remainder of the stage but was denied the stage victory by the narrowest of margins. Ty Gibbs edged ahead by just inches at the finish line to claim Stage 1 honours, while Van Gisbergen collected valuable stage points in second.
Gibbs’ speeding penalty during the stage break promoted Joey Logano and Van Gisbergen to the front row for the Stage 2 restart. Although Logano initially held the advantage, Van Gisbergen quickly fought back and reclaimed the lead just two laps later.
Logano eventually worked his way back past on Lap 33 of the stage, with Van Gisbergen settling into second. As tyre wear began to take its toll over the long green-flag run, Chase Elliott, Hamlin and Chase Briscoe all found their way past, dropping the New Zealander to fifth.
A caution for contact between Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman during green-flag pit stops reset the field, giving Van Gisbergen another opportunity. He moved back into third after the restart before another caution interrupted the action following contact between Josh Berry and Christopher Bell.
Despite several restarts, Van Gisbergen remained inside the top five throughout the remainder of Stage 2. Logano claimed the stage victory, while Van Gisbergen crossed the line fifth to add another six stage points to his tally.
Starting sixth for the final 174-lap stage, Van Gisbergen immediately gained a position and spent much of the closing stint running inside the top five.
As Logano and Hamlin battled for the race win, Van Gisbergen held fourth for much of the final run before Gibbs found a way through with 23 laps remaining.
Logano went on to secure victory ahead of Hamlin, Briscoe and Gibbs, with Van Gisbergen crossing the line in fifth. Bubba Wallace finished sixth, while Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Preece completed the top 10.
The result matches Van Gisbergen’s best Cup Series finish on an oval and, combined with stage points earned in both stages, further strengthens his position above the playoff cut-off line with the regular season entering its closing rounds.
“I’m stoked. It was a great night. Pretty cool to genuinely lead,” Van Gisbergen said.
“It was a hot, long night. Thank you to Trackhouse for a really good car. It was a great day.”
The NASCAR Cup Series now heads to the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for next weekend’s Brickyard 400, with the race scheduled for Monday, 27 July, at 6:00am NZST.
Header Image: Chris Owens
