For Shane van Gisbergen, only two points were the difference between advancement and elimination in the end. He admitted that “it certainly would have helped” to have pitted for fresh tires late in the race when most of the field did, but with multiple playoffs drivers near the front in a must-win situation, it was never going to be easy.
“We’ll never know but we had a good crack. I thought more would stay out with us, but it is what is.” An eighth-place finish to open the round and and a third-place to end the round was very solid, but unfortunately, he was very unlucky at Talladega. A wreck in the tri-oval left him with a 35th-place finish.
“Probably comes down to last week and the dramas we had and the DNF there, so that’s probably it,” noted Van Gisbergen. “I’m proud of the guys. We’ve had an amazing year. My first year in NASCAR and I’ve loved it.”
Talladega II NASCAR Xfinity drama: Shane Van Gisbergen, Kaulig Racing, WeatherTech Chevrolet CamaroDean Thompson, Sam Hunt Racing, Thompson Pipe Group Toyota Supra, David Starr, SS-Green Light Racing, Holt St. Chevrolet Camaro Wreck.
Photo by: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images
SVG’s weekend at Charlotte started off promising, winning pole position for both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity races at the Charlotte Roval.
He led early in the Xfinity race, but missed out on winning the first stage when Kaulig Racing teammate AJ Allmendinger passed him. The New Zealander still crossed the line in second and ended up scoring 13 out of a possible 20 points across both stages. It wasn’t quite enough. However, those around SVG did well in chasing after stage points with Justin Allgaier staying out to win Stage 2, scoring 18 total.
As the laps ticked away, a caution with 15 laps to go would ultimately decide SVG’s fate. He was running second and chose to stay out on older tires while the majority of the field pitted for fresh rubber. The three-time Supercars champion could do little against them on the ensuing restart, falling back to fourth on track.
When the race went into overtime, van Gisbergen was now facing off against Jesse Love in the points battle. Love was deep in the field, but with very fresh tires, he quickly charged forward. With Sam Mayer (a driver in a must-win situation) on his way to taking the checkered flag and Love passing just enough cars on the final lap, it was game over for SVG. Love pushed and shoved his way by the final car he needed to advance with just a few corners remaining in the race while van Gisbergen was in third and unable to move forward.
After being eliminated at Charlotte, he now sits ninth in the championship standings. SVG’s rookie season includes three wins on road courses, but also two top-fives and five top-tens on oval tracks. He will move full-time to Cup next year, driving the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet.
“I’m happy but I’m also not. I’d love to keep going,” he admitted.
