Shane van Gisbergen Tallies Inaugural Grant Park 220 Win at Chicago

“Maranga, Aotearoa!” may have been the battle cry for Shane van Gisbergen. (Photo: Kevin Bowman | The Podium Finish)

CHICAGO – While Shane van Gisbergen came all the way to America and had a blind date with destiny, he did not hear the sounds of Te Awamutu.

Instead, the 34-year-old racer heard the sounds of his No. 91 Enhance Health Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and his hometown of Auckland, New Zealand. In his NASCAR Cup Series debut with PROJECT91, the three-time and defending Supercars Champion asserted himself comfortably and confidently at the 2.14-mile, 12-turn Chicago Street Course.

From the get go, van Gisbergen took to his stock car with incredible poise, logging the fastest time in practice and qualifying third on Saturday afternoon. By race day on Sunday afternoon, the versatile racer was ready to rock and roll in “The Windy City.”

While the track conditions were slick and damp, van Gisbergen bided his time rather than charge quickly and committing any unforced errors.

In the opening laps, pole sitter Denny Hamlin had an encounter with a tire barrier while regulars like Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Noah Gragson and Erik Jones had their chance moment with the Turn 6 tire barrier.

Meanwhile, van Gisbergen drove to a patient third place result in Stage 1 and fourth place finish in Stage 2. Clearly, the skilled New Zealander had more in his Camaro than he showed in the opening moments of the race.

Upon NASCAR’s decision to shorten the race due to impending darkness, van Gisbergen lost valuable track position as he, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson were among those who had yet to pit prior to Stage 3. With 25 less laps than the scheduled race’s distance, their hands were forced to refuel and take on new slicks on the drying streets of Chicago.

Once Stage 3 was underway, van Gisbergen saw life flash before his eyes in Turn 11 when eight cars bottlenecked in the corner. As van Gisbergen drove to into Turn 11, he made a race saving decision to cut to the right, avoiding the calamity and keeping his Camaro relatively pristine.

After the field sorted itself out, it was game, set and match mode for the driver known as SVG. In methodical fashion, van Gisbergen worked his way back into the top five before passing Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon and Justin Haley to take the lead on Lap 71.

van Gisbergen kept out of trouble all race long. (Photo: Kevin Bowman | The Podium Finish)

On this occasion, van Gisbergen showcased New Zealand swagger against the best of the Cup Series, taking his first Cup win by 1.259 seconds over Haley. More importantly, it was the first instance within the modern era of a driver winning their first Cup race in their debut.

Suffice to say, van Gisbergen was in awe of his accomplishment with the PROJECT91 team.

“What an experience in the crowd out here,” van Gisbergen said. “This was so cool. This is what you dream of. Hopefully I can come and do more.”

Like Cole Trickle in Days of Thunder, a late race move paved the way for the big opportunity in the closing moments. His keen, sharp decision to take to the right of the clogged Turn 11 mess may have been the big difference between winning or winding up down the scoring order.

“Wow, when we had that strategy back to 18th, I started to worry a bit,” he said. “But had some full stands on some people, and the racing was really good, everyone was respectful. It was tough, but a lot of fun.”

For a driver who has accomplished so much in Australia and New Zealand, the American dream was realized by van Gisbergen. Upon celebrating in the Chicago Street Course, he sounded like a man whose biggest feat was in “The Windy City” versus his incredible feats in one of the world’s most competitive series.

“Anything is possible. But the fans in Australia and New Zealand, the response this week and the coverage has been…. I can’t explain it,” he said. “Like the response and the support I’ve got from everyone and even over here how welcoming everyone is, I can’t believe it. Dream come true.”

Haley was in position to nab a pivotal Playoffs spot in Chicago. (Photo: Maddie Skidan | The Podium Finish)

On the other hand, Haley netted a much needed runner-up result. Given his experiences in road racing series, the Winamac, Indiana native gave it all he had to hold off van Gisbergen for the win, especially after driving from his 37th starting position.

“I was really struggling under the braking zones,” Haley said. “Felt like I could get off the corner better than anyone, but, I mean, what are you going to do? He had 16 lap fresher tires. Just strategy, and I feel like I put us behind yesterday putting it in the tire barrier. And then from there, it just kind of trickles and whatnot.”

Road course stalwart Elliott had the second most impressive rally in terms of his qualifying position. The record shows that the 2020 Cup champion started 26th but he truly kicked his race off toward the rear of the field in a backup ride following a qualifying accident.

With no pre-race practice time in the unorthodox looking No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet, Elliott tallied a respectable third. Like Haley, a win would have been more preferable.

“I felt like when we got the track position, I was trying to get Justin as quick as I could,” Elliott said. “I knew Shane was coming and I needed to get that pass done quicker and try to get going there, but just needed more pace and needed to be faster in a lot of different areas.

“So, like I said, need to go to work a little bit, but proud of the effort and glad our group never quit.”

Never quitting is an indelible quality for any athlete in their field. Whether it is Elliott or van Gisbergen, racing in the most prestigious form of stock car competition seems to have that calling for the most competitive of racers around the world.

Before the street course reverted back to its familiar presence as roadways in Chicago, van Gisbergen expressed his interest in becoming a regular in NASCAR Cup Series competition.

Look out for SVG in the near future, NASCAR nation. (Photo: Kevin Bowman | The Podium Finish)

“I’m doing one more year in Oz and then I’d love to come over here,” he said.

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Christopher Bell
2. Tyler Reddick
3. Shane van Gisbergen
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Michael McDowell
6. Daniel Suárez
7. Kyle Larson
8. AJ Allmendinger
9. Ty Gibbs
10. Andy Lally

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Christopher Bell
2. Kyle Larson
3. Tyler Reddick
4. Shane van Gisbergen
5. Michael McDowell
6. Ty Gibbs
7. Daniel Suárez
8. Martin Truex Jr.
9. AJ Allmendinger
10. Chase Briscoe

Grant Park 220 at Chicago Street Course Race Results