Shane van Gisbergen put his talent on full display in Chicago, winning in his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series start.
Heavy morning rain threatened the running of the first street race in NASCAR Cup Series history. Luckily the rain moved out of Chicago in time for only a slightly delayed and shortened Grant Park 220. When the race finally got underway, Shane van Gisbergen proved exactly why he is a world-class talent.
The three-time Repco Supercars champion was fast from the very start of the weekend, leading the only practice session and qualifying third. Van Gisbergen hung onto Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell at the beginning of the race as the three of them were the class of the field. Bell won the first two stages before NASCAR made the decision to shorten the race by 25 laps due to darkness.
The trio now had to race their way to the front instead of relying on strategy and van Gisbergen was the only one who managed to make it work. Both Reddick and Bell wound up in the tire barrier in their attempts to regain control of the race. After restarting in 18th van Gisbergen drove all the way to the front and made two perfectly executed passes to take the lead.
His pass for the lead was masterful as he let Justin Haley pass through the kink on the straightaway. Then as Haley’s momentum carried him wide, van Gisbergen dove underneath in the next corner. An overtime restart couldn’t slow van Gisbergen either as he managed the lead and went on to win in his first career NASCAR Cup Series start.
SVG’s win is not a knock on Cup Series drivers
Chase Elliott on MRN: "(Shane van Gisbergen) is going to go home and tell all of his friends how bad we are."
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) July 3, 2023
Shane van Gisbergen is one of the best professional race car drivers in the world. He’s won 80 races and three championships in the Repco Supercars Championship which has many very talented drivers of its own. He’s won championships and marquee races in a host of different series throughout the world. Van Gisbergen has even won in a dirt sprint car.
It should come as no surprise that he can step into the NASCAR Cup Series and have success on a street circuit, which are not foreign to the Supercars Championship. Cup regulars didn’t make it easy on van Gisbergen. On his first restart in the Cup Series, he quickly lost four positions. Shane van Gisbergen’s win showed what makes talented racing drivers all over the world, including the NASCAR Cup Series, so special: their ability to adapt to any car, track, or condition and be extremely fast consistently.
The Chicago street race was a success
NASCAR wanted to bring the sport to a major city and a new audience. They accomplished both despite the weather almost ruining the weekend. A huge amount of fans still showed up and looked to be having a fantastic time at the race. The race itself was compelling and not nearly the crash fest that people had expected. Some events around the race were forced to be canceled due to the record rainfall in Chicago. However, the weekend still showed that a street circuit can definitely have a place on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule moving forward.
