Supercar hero Shane van Gisbergen won his NASCAR Cup Series debut on a rainy Sunday in downtown Chicago, chasing down Justin Haley and Chase Elliott in a memorable finish to the series’ first street race.
After passing Elliott, van Gisbergen battled with Haley in the closing laps before the three-time Supercars champion took the lead for good. Haley held on to second and Elliott third.
Van Gisbergen, 34, had the chance to drive the No. 91 Chevrolet in Chicago as part of Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91. The team’s goal is to expand its global reach.
New Zealander van Gisbergen won his first Supercars championship in 2016 and has added two more in the last two years. He was helped in his NASCAR debut by Darian Grubb, who was Tony Stewart’s crew chief when he won the Cup Series championship in 2011.
“It was really great,” Van Gisbergen said. “It’s what you dream of.”
Asked what his message would be to young drivers in Australia and New Zealand, van Gisbergen said:
“Anything is possible, but the fans in Australia and New Zealand, the response this week and the media coverage has been… I can’t explain it.
“The support I have received from everyone, and even here, the warm welcome from everyone, I can’t believe it, it’s a dream come true.”
He became the sixth driver born outside the United States to win a NASCAR Cup Series race, joining Marcos Ambrose, Mario Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Earl Ross and Daniel Suárez.
“He’s going to go home and tell all his friends how bad we are,” Elliott joked.
The race was scheduled for 100 laps and 220 miles (354 km), but was shortened due to diminishing sunlight after the start was delayed by more than 90 minutes due to historic rains that flooded the course.
The final half of the Xfinity race, which was scheduled to resume after being suspended Saturday due to lightning, has been canceled.
Just before the scheduled start, as rain persisted, pole sitter Denny Hamlin took to Twitter to request a postponement, and Noah Gragson posted a video of one of his tires floating on pit lane.
NASCAR then decided to allow the drivers to return to their trucks.
The weather eventually cleared up, but there were puddles on the course at the start of the race.
Things couldn’t have gone better for Shane van Gisbergen, winning his NASCAR Cup debut in Chicago. (Getty Images: Sean Gardner)
As the track began to dry and teams started to take out their slick tires, water splashed everywhere every time a driver slid into a tire barrier.
Gragson, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano all pitted in Turn 6. Hamlin and Elliott pitted in Turn 2.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was hit by Bubba Wallace and got stuck in the tire barrier in Turn 1 late in the race.
There was also a massive 14-car pileup on Michigan Avenue on Lap 50, clogging the course and almost certainly eliciting a smile from regular Chicago drivers familiar with the area.
Shane van Gisbergen used the streets of Chicago for a traditional burnout celebration after his NASCAR victory. (Getty Images: Jared C. Tilton)
AP/ABC
