After weeks of grinding away at NASCAR’s steep oval learning curve, Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen flashed his potential in qualifying, securing 23rd on the grid. It marked his best oval start yet in a championship points race and a notable achievement at a high-speed concrete track like Nashville.
More impressively, SVG outqualified stars like Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, and his teammate Daniel Suárez, who started 32nd. The best of the Trackhouse trio was Ross Chastain, who lined up 5th after winning at Charlotte the previous weekend.
Up front, Joe Gibbs Racing locked out the front row with Chase Briscoe scoring his second consecutive pole with a track-record time of 29.125, lining up alongside teammate Denny Hamlin.
William Byron and Tyler Reddick made up the second row, while Chastain and Brad Keselowski filled the third.
Stage 1: Pit Strategies and Midfield Mayhem
Briscoe led the field cleanly off the line while SVG got a quick jump, picking off two spots on the opening lap to slot into 21st. Early incidents set the tone for the race.
AJ Allmendinger was hit with a stop-and-go penalty before the green flag, and Kyle Larson, already starting deep in the pack, got loose on Lap 3 and dropped to the rear.
SVG maintained position around the early 20s while running alongside Austin Dillon and Ty Gibbs. Pit strategies began to unfold around Lap 40, with Larson ducking in early and forcing leaders like Hamlin and van Gisbergen to follow.
After the complete pit cycle, SVG emerged 22nd, keeping himself in the hunt. Meanwhile, upfront, Briscoe, Hamlin, Byron, and Reddick built a four-car breakaway for the Stage 1 honours.
Hamlin would ultimately seize the lead with a slick move seven laps from the end, holding off Reddick and a resurgent Briscoe to take the Stage 1 win. Van Gisbergen finished just outside the points in 22nd, matching his starting position.
Stage 2: Contact, Cautions and Climbing
Stage 2 began with a reshuffled pack due to pit stops, with Blaney surging to the lead. Van Gisbergen lost ground in the pits and restarted 25th but began to claw his way back through the chaos.
A series of cautions rattled the field: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was turned by Carson Hocevar, Noah Gragson and Bowman crashed heavily, and Christopher Bell spun off Erik Jones’s nose.
Van Gisbergen showed his racecraft on the restart, leaping up three spots to 22nd before dodging a spinning Corey Heim, who crashed after misjudging Brad Keselowski’s line.
The Kiwi crept into the top 20 and eventually hit a high of 13th late in the stage, passing Ty Gibbs and gaining key track position.
The front of the field saw one of the race’s best battles as Hamlin, Byron, and Blaney went three-wide in a scrap for the Stage 2 win. Blaney ultimately held firm to take the flag, with Byron second and Hamlin third. SVG’s 13th-place finish in Stage 2 marked his best stage result yet on an oval.
Stage 3: Blaney Takes Control, SVG Rolls the Dice
The final stage launched with Blaney and Logano on the front row, while SVG restarted 16th but was shuffled back early. The race was briefly neutralised again after Ryan Preece scraped the wall but kept rolling.
As the laps ticked away, Blaney stretched his legs and opened a commanding lead. Hocevar, Hamlin, Logano, and Byron staged a late battle for the podium, but Blaney was never seriously challenged. Larson, after seven pit stops and a miserable opening stint, stormed through to ninth, a stunning recovery.
Van Gisbergen, meanwhile, slipped outside the top 20 in the closing laps, eventually finishing 25th. His final pit stop didn’t go to plan, and a bold long-run gamble on fuel and tyres didn’t pay dividends. Still, he kept the car clean and was the last driver on the lead lap, more valuable experience in the bank.
Final Results and Looking Ahead
Blaney took the chequered flag after 300 laps of intense racing, followed by Hocevar, Hamlin, Logano, and Byron. Wallace, Jones, Larson, Reddick, and Bell completed the top 10. Chastain narrowly missed the top 10 in 11th, Suárez salvaged 16th, and Van Gisbergen rounded out the lead-lap finishers in 25th.
SVG’s last four finishes on D-shaped ovals—22nd, 20th, 14th, and 25th—show a steady if sometimes frustrating, learning curve. But the gains are there, especially in qualifying and mid-race pace.
The next stop is Michigan International Speedway, another fast oval, before SVG gets back to more familiar turf at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez road course in Mexico on June 16th.
Van Gisbergen’s oval education continues, but each race brings another step forward.
Header Image: Shane Van Gisbergen (Facebook)
