Shane van Gisbergen sweeps Chicago weekend with chaotic NASCAR Cup race win

The three-time Supercars champion is now a three-time race winner in the NASCAR Cup Series. Shane van Gisbergen won from pole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series…and then proceeded to do it again in the Cup race on Sunday.

While chaos broke out behind the leaders, SVG remained firmly in control for the final run of the race, capturing the checkered flag.

“What an amazing weekend for me,” said van Gisbergen. “Lucky guy to drive some great cars. I thank Trackhouse, WeatherTech Chevy and all these guys and girls here, what an amazing weekend. Thanks everyone for coming out, and hope we put on a good show.”

Ty Gibbs finished second, matching his career-best finish in the Cup Series. Tyler Reddick was charging fast on fresh tires, but he ran out of time, settling for third. Denny Hamlin came from last on the grid to finish fourth and Kyle Busch rebounded from a mid-race spin to finish fifth.

AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, Austin Hill, and Ross Chastain filled out the remainder of the top ten.

As Van Gisbergen approached the white flag, Cody Ware crashed big, burying his No. 51 car in the tire barrier. Luckily for him, he took the white flag before the race-ending caution flew.

Stage 3

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Chris Graythen – Getty Images

The final stage of the race got underway on Lap 49 of 75 with Briscoe and Reddick leading the way, trying to go longer than most on fuel.

SVG restarted back in eighth, but quickly made his way up to third. Reddick stayed close to Briscoe about three seconds clear of the three-time Supercars champ.

With 18 laps to go, he easily dispatched Reddick for the runner-up spot. Three laps later, he made the pass for the lead on Briscoe. Moments later, the caution flew for a medical emergency. NASCAR needed to get an ambulance across the track to help a spectator.  

Reddick took the opportunity to pit from third, giving up track position for fresh tires. A handful of cars pitted with him, but it still put him deep in the field.

The green flag flew with 13 laps to go and chaos broke out behind the leaders with multiple incidents. Chastain got put into the tires in Turn 1 and then sent Joey Logano spinning in the next corner, collecting Ricky Stenhouse Jr., but none of this actually caused a caution. Austin Cindric stopped on track with damage, and that ultimately triggered a full-course caution.

In a nine-lap dash, things got very heated between Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace as they battled not just for a spot on track, but for advancement in the $1 million in-season challenge. In the end, Wallace got turned off the nose of Bowman and spun out. 

There was a lot of contact throughout the pack in the closing laps, but things somehow remained green until the white flag incident. And while SVG celebrated the win, his teammate, Chastain, was confronted by Logano on pit road following their contact.

Stage 1

Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Brad Keselowski, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

Photo by: Logan Riely / Getty Images

At the start of the race, Michael McDowell managed to get around van Gisbergen and take the race lead. It was a clean start, but William Byron fell behind the pack and went to the garage with clutch issues.

Just three laps into the race, Carson Hocevar slammed the wall at the exit of Turn 10 and lost control while running the seventh. This ignited a multi-car pileup, collecting Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Will Brown, Todd Gilliland, Allmendinger, and Riley Herbst. Cole Custer also sustained damage was trying to slow down.

The rest of the stage was mostly clean except for a spin from Bowman. Most of the field chose to short-pit including van Gisbergen, who went from second to eleventh.

However, McDowell was among ten drivers that stayed out, winning the stage. He was followed by Busch, Reddick, Chase Briscoe, and Preece.

Christopher Bell was penalized for speeding during the first cycle of stops, putting him to the rear of the field.

Stage 2

SVG quickly made up ground with fresh tires, cutting through the top ten with relative ease. Meanwhile, Wallace went for a spin after contact with Kyle Larson.

Later on, Josh Berry spun and slammed the wall, destroying the nose of the car. Several drivers, including Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe, dove to pit road just before the caution came out.

Under caution, McDowell gave up the lead after telling the team that his throttle was sticking. He got fresh tires and a full load of fuel as the Spire team went under the hood to investigate. 

SVG was back in control, leading Allmendinger. Busch went spinning on the restart, costing him all of his track position. To make matters worse, he got a pass-through penalty after driving through too many pit stalls. Katherine Legge also lost control and slammed the tire barrier at Turn 1. She was able to continue.

Van Gisbergen gave up the stage win to pit early, as did Allmendinger. That allowed Ryan Blaney to take the stage win, ahead of Briscoe and Reddick. 

Photos from Chicago – Race