Coming off a hot Fourth of July weekend, the talk of the Windy City didn’t revolve around the Cubs miraculously topping their division, expectations for Bears QB Caleb Williams, or even when the Pope will bless the White Sox again (they could certainly use a little help). In fact, on America’s birthday, the talk of the town wasn’t even American – it was all about Shane van Gisbergen.

Now in his third year of NASCAR Cup Series competition, the import from New Zealand made history over the weekend, becoming only the second driver to win both the Xfinity Series and Cup Series races from the pole position. The last to accomplish such a feat was Cup champion and veteran wheelman Kyle Busch. Furthermore, SVG’s second win on Chicago’s street course meant a return to Victory Lane where it all started for him, as he won the league’s debut event of the Grant Park 165 in 2023. And considering this latest triumph officially crowns him the most-winning driver in NASCAR Cup Series not born in the United States, it’s high time to meet the speedster from Down Under.

Who is Shane van Gisbergen? 

Born May 9, 1989, in Auckland, New Zealand, Shane van Gisbergen’s first introductions to speed happened between 1998 and 2004 in the form of Motocross, Quarter Midget racing, and kart competitions. While that period was crucial to his foundation as a driver, SVG’s first major success came when he won the Rookie of the Year award after finishing third in the 2004-2005 New Zealand Formula First Championship. He earned additional ROY honors the following year after winning the New Zealand Ford Championship and a runner-up finish in the 2006/2007 Toyota Racing Series.
 
As good as the flashes of success showed he could be, it wasn’t until Van Gisbergen entered V8 Supercars that he shined, and even then, he still wasn’t quite a household name. In the five years he spent with Stone Brothers Racing (2007-2012), his highest finish in the championship was fourth. He moved to Tekno Autosports in 2013, topping his previous outings with a second-place finish. Once SVG moved to the Triple Eight Race Engineering team, he and Alexandre Prémat won the coveted Enduro Cup in 2016, followed by the Castrol Gold Coast 600 that same year. 

With his stock soaring, van Gisbergen simultaneously went on to find success in the 2014 Hankook Super Series Championship, winning seven out of nine races before later cruising to victory during the 2021 new Zealand Grand Prix. Clearly coming into his own, he claimed the series’ most famous race, the Bathurst 1000, on three different occasions (2020, 2022, and 2023). SVG finished his V8 Supercars Championship career with an impressive 80 wins over 508 races, including winning the league’s driver title in 2016, 2021, and 2022. Additionally, in GT Racing, he piloted a McLaren 650S GT3 at the 2016 Bathurst 12 Hour and earned the British automaker its first team win at the event.

Shane van Gisbergen’s Xfinity and Cup Series history

Ever since entering the NASCAR’s top flight in 2023, winning Chicago’s inaugural Street Course for Trackhouse Racing, van Gisbergen has been steadily improving. His follow-up Cup Series race of the season occurred on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, yielding him his second Top 10 finish that year. In 2024 under the Kaulig Racing banner, he scored back-to-back Xfinity Series victories with stellar performances at Portland and Sonoma, before cruising to his third win that year with a triumphant showing at Chicago. 

He nearly captured the checkered flag during the 2024 Watkins Glen race, but SVG couldn’t hold Chris Buescher back on the final lap of the race and, ultimately, the RFK Racing wheelman stole the win. He did manage to bounce back at the Charlotte Roval, cruising to his first career Cup Series pole. The start of van Gisbergen’s 2025 Cup campaign got off to a rocky, 33rd-place finish at the Daytona 500, but he punched his playoff ticket with his win at the historic race in Mexico City, only to later outdo himself during Sunday’s Grant Park 165 in Chicago. 

If it sounds like Van Gisbergen’s a force to be reckoned with on street, that’s because he is. See, SVG’s not just winning on road courses, he’s doing it in epic fashion. He dusted the competition in Mexico, winning by a whopping 16.567 seconds. On road courses in the Cup Series alone, he’s scored one win, a pair of Top 5 finishes, and five Top 10 finishes, but he’s even better in the Xfinity Series where he’s notched two wins and four Top 5 finishes in five starts.

What kind of car does Shane van Gisbergen drive?

Competing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, van Gisbergen drives the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing alongside the Watermelon Man, Ross Chastain. When SVG participates part-time in Xfinity Series races, he pilots the No. 9 Chevrolet SS for JR Motorsports. 

While many are trying to discover the secret to his sauce on road courses, Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks told NASCAR things just come “naturally” to van Gisbergen. 

“For me, in my experience driving race cars for 20 years, it’s his racing IQ,” revealed Marks, who knows a thing or two about road racing himself. “It’s how strategic he can think while he’s on the limit of the race car.”

SVG’s crew chief Stephen Doran has his own thoughts on what makes the New Zealander so unstoppable in road races. 

“You watch him, and he’s like a machine out there,” noted Doran. “He makes no mistakes, and he just waits until somebody misses an apex in front of him, and he pounces on them. He just drives through the field.”

You can catch Shane van Gisbergen competing next in the NASCAR Cup Series with the Toyota / Save Mart 350 in Sonoma, California. The event also marks the third round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, a 32-driver, single-elimination tournament that occurs over five races and boasts at $1 million prize for the winner. 

The NASCAR Cup Series makes it way to USA Network on August 3 with the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol. Coverage then shifts to NBC on August 23 for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. The remainder of the post-season will air on USA Network except for the final two playoff races and the NASCAR Cup Series Championship in Phoenix, Arizona, which will air on NBC. To find out more, please check local listings and the Cup Series schedule.

Sunday

At Chicago Street Course

Chicago.

Lap length: 2.20 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

1. (1) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 75 laps, 40 points.

2. (9) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 75, 35.

3. (4) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 75, 51.

4. (40) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 75, 38.

5. (6) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 75, 41.

6. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 75, 31.

7. (7) Ryan Preece, Ford, 75, 36.

8. (11) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 75, 36.

9. (30) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 75, 0.

10. (22) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 75, 32.

11. (12) Joey Logano, Ford, 75, 26.

12. (17) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 75, 35.

13. (14) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 75, 24.

14. (26) Zane Smith, Ford, 75, 26.

15. (25) John H. Nemechek, Toyota, 75, 29.

16. (39) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 75, 25.

17. (21) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 75, 20.

18. (8) Chris Buescher, Ford, 75, 19.

19. (33) Katherine Legge, Chevrolet, 75, 18.

20. (36) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 75, 17.

21. (31) Josh Bilicki, Ford, 75, 0.

22. (28) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 75, 15.

23. (5) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 75, 30.

24. (13) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 74, 14.

25. (34) Erik Jones, Toyota, 74, 14.

26. (35) Cody Ware, Ford, accident, 73, 11.

27. (27) Austin Cindric, Ford, 72, 10.

28. (37) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 70, 15.

29. (18) Daniel Suárez, Chevrolet, accident, 69, 8.

30. (24) Noah Gragson, Ford, 68, 8.

31. (32) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chevrolet, accident, 62, 6.

32. (2) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 53, 15.

33. (23) Cole Custer, Ford, accident, 29, 4.

34. (29) Josh Berry, Ford, accident, 28, 3.

35. (3) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, accident, 2, 2.

36. (10) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, accident, 2, 1.

37. (15) Brad Keselowski, Ford, accident, 2, 1.

38. (20) Todd Gilliland, Ford, accident, 2, 1.

39. (19) Will Brown, Chevrolet, accident, 2, 1.

40. (38) William Byron, Chevrolet, clutch, 1, 1.

___

Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 64.719 mph.

Time of Race: 2 hours, 28 minutes, 17 seconds.

Margin of Victory: Under Caution.

Caution Flags: 7 for 15 laps.

Lead Changes: 6 among 5 drivers.

Lap Leaders: S.Van Gisbergen 0; M.McDowell 1-31; S.Van Gisbergen 32-41; A.Allmendinger 42-43; R.Blaney 44-46; C.Briscoe 47-59; S.Van Gisbergen 60-75

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): M.McDowell, 1 time for 31 laps; S.Van Gisbergen, 3 times for 26 laps; C.Briscoe, 1 time for 13 laps; R.Blaney, 1 time for 3 laps; A.Allmendinger, 1 time for 2 laps.

Wins: K.Larson, 3; D.Hamlin, 3; C.Bell, 3; S.Van Gisbergen, 2; W.Byron, 1; C.Elliott, 1; R.Blaney, 1; R.Chastain, 1; C.Briscoe, 1; J.Logano, 1; A.Cindric, 1; J.Berry, 1.

Top 16 in Points: 1. W.Byron, 632; 2. C.Elliott, 619; 3. K.Larson, 613; 4. D.Hamlin, 589; 5. T.Reddick, 584; 6. C.Bell, 565; 7. R.Blaney, 539; 8. R.Chastain, 490; 9. C.Briscoe, 482; 10. A.Bowman, 480; 11. C.Buescher, 476; 12. J.Logano, 471; 13. B.Wallace, 443; 14. R.Preece, 441; 15. A.Allmendinger, 400; 16. K.Busch, 397.

___

NASCAR Driver Rating Formula

A maximum of 150 points can be attained in a race.

The formula combines the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish.

Copyright
© 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

CHICAGO — (AP) — NASCAR’s first in-season tournament hasn’t made much of an impression on its drivers so far. Ty Gibbs said Sunday he didn’t know who his second-round opponent was until after the Cup Series race.

That might be about to change.

Gibbs is one of eight drivers still in the mix for the $1 million prize that goes to the winner of the five-race, bracket-style competition. While Shane van Gisbergen was closing out his Cup victory in Chicago this weekend, some of the most compelling action on the downtown street course was at least connected to the inaugural In-Season Challenge.

Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace raced each other hard in the final laps after they tangled in Chicago last year. Bowman got the better of the head-to-head matchup, finishing eighth and eliminating Wallace from the tournament.

John Hunter Nemechek was 15th, one spot better than his opponent, Chase Elliott. Gibbs had a strong day and finished second, good enough to beat AJ Allmendinger in sixth. Ty Dillon, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith and Erik Jones also moved on.

The 14th-seeded Smith upset No. 3 seed Chris Buescher by finishing 14th. He is matched up with Gibbs for Sunday’s road race at Sonoma.

“I hate we had to knock another Ford out, but it’s super cool to advance,” Smith said.

With the in-season tournament — part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT — NASCAR is following in the footsteps of the NBA and soccer leagues around the world. After Sonoma this weekend, it concludes with races at Dover and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Bowman said the tournament wasn’t on his mind as he battled with Wallace at the end in Chicago. Whatever the reason for the contact, their head-to-head matchup certainly added a bit of intrigue to the racing behind van Gisbergen’s victory.

With the money involved and the field trimmed to eight drivers, there could be more moments like the duel between Bowman and Wallace in the final weeks of the challenge.

“I wasn’t expecting that to happen or to get raced like that, but we did,” Bowman said. “We just have to move on from it and keep digging.”

It sure sounds as if Dillon is enjoying the competition. Dillon, the No. 32 seed, eliminated Brad Keselowski on Sunday after he upset top-seeded Denny Hamlin at Atlanta on June 28.

There was absolutely no drama in Dillon’s win after Keselowski was collected in an early crash that began with Carson Hocevar hitting the wall and spinning out between Turns 10 and 11. Hocevar was eliminated by Reddick.

“I’m just so proud of Kaulig Racing and our No. 10 team,” Dillon said. “I knew in a basketball city, going up against Brad in a game of knockout, I was going to have a good chance.”

Dillon takes on Bowman and Preece faces Reddick in the next round. But the most interesting contest just might be Nemechek versus Jones in a matchup of Legacy Motor Club teammates.

“I felt like if we could have gotten through the first round, these next two rounds are really good for us,” Preece said. “Our road course program is pretty strong, and we keep making it better. So going into Sonoma, I think we’re up against Tyler Reddick, so he’s really good at road courses as well, but I like being the underdog.”

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

While Shane van Gisbergen was once again the driver to beat on Sunday, his closest competition never got a fair shot in the end due to some mechanical gremlins.

Michael McDowell started from the outside of the front row at the Chicago Street Course and took the lead from SVG on the opening lap. He went on to win Stage 1 and appeared to be a real threat for the win. The Spire Motorsports driver was also facing a two-year winless streak and hoped to put that behind him on Sunday.

Unfortunately, after leading the most laps (31), a stuck throttle forced him to give up the lead and head to the garage for repairs. He returned to the race over 20 laps down, finishing a disappointing 32nd. Meanwhile, van Gisbergen captured the checkered flag. 

Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Chris Graythen – Getty Images

“The throttle cable just broke,” said McDowell. “I don’t know what caused it or how it got to that spot, but that’s what happened. I feel like we had control of the race. I think it would have been a battle, no doubt. I felt like any time I could open a gap on SVG, I could.

“We were just working on our strategy. We knew we were going to one-stop it, so I was taking care of the tires and doing all the things I could. I was behind the pace car and the throttle stuck wide-open. Luckily, I got to the switches fast enough before I ran into something, and then a cable broke after that. It’s just a shame. We had a great No. 71 DePaul Chevrolet. We’ve got some good momentum heading into Sonoma next weekend.”

The good news for McDowell is that NASCAR heads to another road course next weekend with Sonoma, where he finished second just one year ago. 

When Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen won at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez a few weeks ago, it was said that he had “clinched” a spot in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, but that could not have been further from the truth.

While the playoff format is widely considered a “win and in” format, the Cup Series entered this past weekend’s Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course with 12 winners in 18 races, leaving eight remaining races on the regular season schedule in which more new winners could emerge.

Regardless of how many winners there are, the playoffs are capped at 16 drivers. Though it hasn’t happened since the introduction of the modern format in 2014, there can absolutely be more than 16 different winners, in which case a winner (or multiple winners) would not actually qualify for the playoffs.

The regular season champion is locked in, as are all drivers who win more than once (since there can be no more than 13 of them in 26 races). The tiebreaker, if applicable, to see which single-race winners get in and which don’t becomes points.

Likewise, if there aren’t enough winners to fill the postseason field, points determine which non-winners get in and which don’t. This is what it usually comes down to, but again, it’s not guaranteed that there won’t end up being more winners than playoff spots.

Van Gisbergen was in a bad spot on points.

While the other 11 winners were inside the top 20 in the standings, he found himself down in 31st place. He was all but a lock to finish the regular season as the lowest winner in the point standings, meaning that had the regular season produced (and it still might) 17 or 18 winners, he’d be in a precarious situation.

Not anymore.

By winning twice, van Gisbergen is locked into the playoffs. He could finish last in the point standings and still qualify, even if the regular season ends with seven more new winners to give it 19 in total.

Some might argue that it’s one of the flaws of the modern format, while some might use it to reinforce the idea that it’s not really a “win and in” format like we’re supposed to believe. While winning once may not seal the deal, winning twice certainly does, regardless of points.

Now van Gisbergen doesn’t have to worry about losing his playoff spot.