NASCAR
Shane van Gisbergen Takes Third-Straight Xfinity Road Course Win at Chicago
CHICAGO, Ill. – Fans across Grant Park were treated to another street course clinic at the hands of Shane van Gisbergen. The New Zealander put together another lights-out performance in the No. 97 Chevrolet, picking up win number three of 2024. All focus now turns to SVG defending his Cup triumph tomorrow, and if he can earn a Chicago hat trick.
Stage 1 was a heavyweight slugfest between Shane van Gisbergen and Kyle Larson. Perhaps the two most talented drivers in NASCAR today swapped the lead multiple times across the opening run. The No. 97 retook command just in time to take the valuable Stage point.
Both leaders opting to pit midway through Stage 2 handed this Playoff point to Austin Hill.
Hill would lose the top spot on the Stage 3 restart to teammate Jesse Love. The teenager in the No. 2 would put on a road course masterclass over the next several laps, keeping a hard-charging Ty Gibbs at bay. This stint allowed SVG to rebound up to third, however.
On a restart with three laps left, Love lost ground while SVG went from third to the lead in a lap. His team told him to “be a badass” on the restart, and the 97 left the field in the dust for a third-straight Xfinity road course win.
“That’s awesome, what a great race,” van Gisbergen said. “It was pretty wild there at the end, can’t thank Kaulig Racing guys enough. The WeatherTech Camaro was amazing. Great race at the start with Kyle (Larson), he was really good on the restarts. We made our car better for the second set of tires, but that was fun at the end passing all those guys. Had some great racing with everyone.”
“It’s cool, (Larson and I) were waving at each other, thumbs up, and really respectful but big moves. Amazing under brakes and on the bumps. Really cool, I learned a lot, he probably learned a lot off me. Hope to race him again for the win tomorrow.”
Behind SVG, Ty Gibbs, and Kyle Larson, Parker Kligerman and Jesse Love were the top-five. Other strong finishers were: Connor Mosack, Austin Hill, Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, and Austin Green.
By virtue of being the first to three wins, SVG is now the Xfinity provisional Playoff points leader. Take a look at the rest of the postseason picture below with nine regular season races left.
The Xfinity Series returns to action Saturday at Pocono Raceway. The Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 goes green at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. This marks only the ninth trip to Pocono for Xfinity teams. Who can master all three unique ends of The Tricky Triangle and walk away victorious?
Written by Peter Stratta
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