Shane Van Gisbergen dominates Chicago Street Course, sweeping NASCAR weekend.
CHICAGO β New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen continued his spectacular form at road courses with a dominating NASCAR Cup Series win at the Chicago Street Course on Sunday.
Van Gisbergen started on the pole and was far and away the best car in the field throughout the event. The win gave him a sweep of the weekend after he won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday.
“I love this place,” Van Gisbergen said after the win. “What an amazing weekend for me.”
Van Gisbergen won the inaugural Chicago Street Course race in 2023 in his first NASCAR Cup Series start. He won at Mexico City in June, giving him two wins this year.
Tyler Reddick was charging toward the front in the final laps with fresher tires but ultimately ran out of time, finishing third behind Van Gisbergen and Ty Gibbs. A caution on the final lap for a stalled car ended Reddick’s chances of challenging for the victory.
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five.
The race saw several contenders suffer from errant spins, mechanical problems, or flat tires.Β
Calamity struck the Chicago race on the fourth lap. Carson Hocevar, who started in third, hit the wall off turn 7 and forced a pileup of oncoming cars. Hocevar, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Todd Gilliland, and Will Brown were knocked out of the race from damage in the crash.Β
Michael McDowell won the first stage and led early on until a stuck throttle ended his hopes for the win.Β
After McDowell’s issue, the race was mostly Van Gisbergen’s to lose. Pit strategy shuffled him back in the pack at times, but he found his way to the front each time.
The race’s final caution happened on the last lap after Cody Ware got stuck in a tire barrier. Ware crashed with two laps to go, but NASCAR did not call the caution until Van Gisbergen took the white flag, which ended the race.
The NASCAR Cup Series is next in action at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, July 13. Kyle Larson is the defending winner.