Shane van Gisbergen wins tense NASCAR Cup race at Charlotte Roval

Shane van Gisbergen won Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, dominating most of it — but SVG had to work for it. There was a intense battle with Kyle Larson during the final stage before SVG got away and captured the checkered flag well ahead of the pack.

“Yeah, just started getting hot and sliding around, but what an awesome race, Kyle [Larson] and Christopher [Bell] driving really good and got a little rough, but man, the battle was awesome,” said SVG, who won by over 15 seconds.”

Watch: SVG ‘really enjoyed’ thrilling win at Charlotte Roval

“With the Chevy, I lost it a little bit at the start of stage three, and whatever they did for the rest of the race, unbelievable. Really enjoyed that, and that was a long time waiting hoping the yellow wasn’t going to come out.”

Larson finished a distant second, Christopher Bell third, Chris Buescher fourth, and Michael McDowell fifth. Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott, AJ Allmendinger, and Tyler Reddick filled out the remainder of the top ten.

The battle around the playoff cut line was dramatic as Chastain and Logano fought for every spot back in the field. When Denny Hamlin passed Chastain on the final lap, the Trackhouse driver was out. However, he fully sent it into the final corner, spinning out Hamlin and himself, with both reversing across the line.

It was yet another ‘Hail Melon,’ but unlike his 2022 wallride, this one didn’t work out as Logano snatched the final transfer spot by four points.

Stages 1 and 2

Reddick led the field to the green flag, and 36 of the 37 made it through the first corner without issue. Kyle Busch slammed the wall after contact from Carson Hocevar, breaking a toe link. He made it back to the garage without the need of a caution, and returned to the race after repairs were made.

Reddick did not hold the lead for long as van Gisbergen quickly found a way by.

Cindric’s slim chances of advancing into the Round of 8 fell apart early after missing the backstretch chicane and later going for a spin.

Many teams split the stage in half due to the high tire falloff, but a handful of cars including 23XI Racing attempted to go long and then pit just before the end of the stage.

SVG went on to win the stage ahead of Larson and Gibbs. In the battle around the cut line, Chastain managed to make up six of the 13 points he needed to gain on Logano.

However, the Trackhouse driver made a bizarre error while exiting the pits under caution, nearly hitting the tire barrier. He had to slam on the brakes and come to a stop, which cost him 15 spots as he failed to maintain pace car speed.

In Stage 2, he proceeded to quickly slick through the field, narrowly avoiding a wreck in the frontstretch chicane as Hocevar slid into Cindric, spinning him out and causing damage to the No. 2 Penske Ford. That essentially ended any hopes Cindric had of winning his way into the next round of the playoffs.

There were several split strategies again, and this time, Chastain ran the entire stage without pitting. While Blaney earned the Stage 2 win over Reddick and Elliott, while Chastain managed to gain another four points on Logano.

Stage 3

There was a contact-filled battle for the lead as Bell tried to take it from SVG, but the New Zealander maintained the advantage.

Austin Dillon crashed into a section of tire pack lining the infield road course, forcing a caution for barrier repairs.

Under caution, Riley Herbst doored Tu Dillon and flattened his own tire due to frustration over how he was raced prior to the yellow flag.

SVG lost the lead on the next restart, falling behind Larson and Bell. He eventually reclaimed the lead with 23 laps to go. On that lap, Logano chose to pit and Chastain quickly responded. However, a speeding penalty derailed Chastain’s efforts, putting him in a dire situation.

SVG pitted a few laps later than Bell and Larson, once again falling behind them, but with fresher tires. Once he caught Larson, the two drivers made a lot of contact before SVG finally grabbed the lead. That turned out to be the pass for the win.

Herbst, who originally finished 30th, was disqualified after failing post-race inspection. The DQ does not impact the playoffs in any way.