Shane van Gisbergen Wins Again at Chicago

Shane van Gisbergen celebrating in Victory Lane after winning Saturday’s The Loop 110 at Chicago Street Course. (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

CHICAGO — With NASCAR returning to the streets of Chicago for year three, the question was, could Shane van Gisbergen do it again? Long story short, he did, winning The Loop 110 for his second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Chicago and third street course victory overall.

After leading early in the race, van Gisbergen had to mount a charge late after his team elected to pit later in the second stage rather than during the Stage 1 caution period. With under 10 laps to go, SVG began running race leader and JR Motorsports/Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch, when a caution came out after Andre Castro got into the tire barrier in Turn 6.

The final restart took place with just two laps to go, and heading into Turn 1, van Gisbergen got to the inside of Zilisch, running the corner wide and roughing Zilisch up a bit to take the lead. Over the next two laps, Zilisch launched a hard charge, but was unable to retake the lead as van Gisbergen claimed the victory.

“I thought it was going to be a lost cause when the strategy went wrong, but worked out well,” van Gisbergen said. “Thanks to JRM, the car was a rocket. Unreal day.”

Shane van Gisbergen at the Chicago Street Course, where he repeated as winner of The Loop 110. (Photo: Kevin Bowman | The Podium Finish)

When looking back at the final restart, SVG gave Zilisch his praise for the way he raced and knew that going into Turn 1 off the restart was his chance to take the lead back and win the race.

“He’s (Zilisch) a great young driver, and it’s the first time I’ve really raced him,” he said. “I knew that was my opportunity, took it and it was an awesome 1-2 (finish) for the team.”

On the flip side of the maneuver was Zilisch, who finished in the second position. His viewpoint of the final restart was a little different than van Gisbergen’s, hoping he would’ve gotten raced more cleanly heading into Turn 1.

“I guess I should’ve just not let him (van Gisbergen) get to my bottom,” said Zilisch. “I was clear there just barely on the front straight, and I just let him get to my inside and took advantage of it. I hate it for my (No.) 88 group, I should have just been a little more aggressive there. I just thought he was going to race me a little cleaner.”

Connor Zilisch finished second in The Loop 110, narrowly finishing behind Shane van Gisbergen. (Photo: Kevin Bowman | The Podium Finish)

Even with his frustration with SVG, he still made sure to take the blame for not getting the win and wants to make it a learning point going forward throughout the season.

“It’s racing for the win, I’m not going to complain about it,” he said on whether the move was fair or foul. “He won the race and I didn’t. So, I just have to be better and not let that stuff happen. I’ll learn from it and move on.”

Sheldon Creed scored a third-place finish after scoring the Stage 2 victory, Austin Hill finished fourth and Nick Sanchez scored a fifth-place finish. Rounding out the top 10 were Jesse Love, Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer, Austin Green and Brennan Poole.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns next Saturday, July 12, at Sonoma Raceway for the Pit Boss/Food Max 250 at 4:30 p.m. EST on The CW, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Shane van Gisbergen
2. Sheldon Creed
3. Austin Hill
4. Sam Mayer
5. Nick Sanchez
6. Justin Allgaier
7. Sammy Smith
8. Connor Zilisch
9. Carson Kvapil
10. Alex Labbe

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Sheldon Creed
2. Jesse Love
3. Austin Hill
4. Connor Zilisch
5. Sammy Smith
6. Jeb Burton
7. Josh Williams
8. Justin Allgaier
9. Brandon Jones
10. Thomas Annunziata

The Loop 110 at Chicago Street Course Finishing Results