The 67th running of the Coca-Cola 600 wasn’t the best oval finish of Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR career, but it was his most impressive to those paying attention to the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.
SVG’s best Cup finish on an oval came at Atlanta earlier this year, placing sixth. He has one other top ten — P10 at Kansas last fall. Charlotte was oh so close to becoming his third oval top ten on Sunday, but instead, it was his fourth 11th place finish since moving up to the Cup Series (all on different oval tracks).
But that doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story. After starting third due to qualifying being rained out, Van Gisbergen did not fade at all. He remained inside the top five for some time, and never really fell outside the top ten for the majority of the race.
Scoring stage points and leading late
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images
At the end of Stage 1 he was 10th, at the end of Stage 2 he was 9th, and at the end of Stage 3 he was 7th — five extra points for his efforts.
But in the final stage, Van Gisbergen made some big moves to challenge for a spot inside the top five. He the stayed out on older tires, but managed to hold the lead for 11 laps with rain threatening — the most laps he’s ever led on an oval. 36 laps after losing control of the race, rain did end the event, with Daniel Suarez claiming the victory.
SVG ultimately finished 11th through some chaotic restarts and a sluggish pit stop. Still, it was enough for him to jump two positions in the standings, and he is no longer on the Chase bubble. He ended the long night with an average running position of 7.81.
Van Gisbergen was thrilled with the run, but admittedly ‘pissed’ that he missed out on a top ten with how much time he spent near the front of the field.
“It’s hard,” said Van Gisbergen. “I had an amazing day, but I’m pissed. We were a top-five or six car, but we just didn’t execute at the end. It was really cool to run up front all day. We were gifted a good starting position with qualifying getting canceled. It was a good call by Stephen (Doran, crew chief) to stay out there. It was awesome to be able to lead some laps.”
However, his main adjective for the night was ‘fun,’ especially when he got to rip the top and make gains as the tires began to wear on longer runs.
And despite the end result, it was clearly his strongest oval race yet. He even out-paced teammate Ross Chastain (before his mid-race crash), which is extra impressive considering the fact that Chastain won last year’s Coca-Cola 600.
Photos from Charlotte Race
Charlotte – Sunday, in photos
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Charlotte – Sunday, in photos
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Charlotte – Sunday, in photos
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Charlotte – Sunday, in photos
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Charlotte – Sunday, in photos
Charlotte – Sunday, in photos
Charlotte – Sunday, in photos
Charlotte – Sunday, in photos
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