Van Gisbergen won his Cup Series debut in downtown Chicago, surpassing Justin Haley and Chase Elliott in a memorable finish to the series’ first street race.
The three-time Australian Supercars champion outclassed everyone over the last laps of the race. After passing Elliott, Van Gisbergen dragged with Haley in the final laps before he went ahead of him. Haley finished second while Elliott was third.
“The racing, the battles were really fun,” Van Gisbergen said. “But everyone was respectful and clean. It was really cool.”
The 34-year-old New Zealand native became the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.
He drove the No. 91 Chevrolet in Chicago as part of Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91. Trackhouse is owned by Marks, and the goal of the Project 91 program is to give international drivers a chance at NASCAR.
“This was a shower idea,” Marks said. “I mean it was me thinking I’m a huge fan of all different kinds of motorsports and I’ve raced in all different kinds of motorsports. I wanted to bring my love global motorsport to NASCAR.”
Project 91 got its first lap led in three starts when Van Gisbergen led Lap 25. His victory also made him the sixth driver born outside of the United States to win a NASCAR Cup Series race, joining the likes of Marcos Ambrose, Mario Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Earl Ross, and Daniel Suárez.
Van Gisbergen’s street course prowess was on full display over the final 20 laps of the race.
He has 79 Supercars victories and is the fourth most successful driver in series history. He also won the Australian Supercars championship in 2016, 2021, and 2022.
Van Gisbergen is one of three drivers who have won the Bathurst 1000, Bathurst 6 Hour, and Bathurst 12 Hour. His victory is the fifth in the history of Trackhouse Racing and the second for the team this season, after Ross Chastain’s win a week ago at Nashville.
The NASCAR race was delayed by rainfall. The Chicago area had a record amount of rainfall on Sunday, July 2 and the temporary street circuit in Grant Park had standing water in many areas.
NASCAR decided to start the race when the rain tapered off at about 5 p.m. CT. The race track did not fully dry over the course of the race.
The delay saw the 100-lap race shortened by 25 laps to ensure it finished before sunset. It, however, ended after 78 laps.
Race results
1. Shane van Gisbergen
2. Justin Haley
3. Chase Elliott
4. Kyle Larson
5. Kyle Busch
6. Austin Cindric
7. Michael McDowell
8. Joey Logano
9. Ty Gibbs
10. Chris Buescher
11. Denny Hamlin
12. Aric Almirola
13. William Byron
14. Corey LaJoie
15. Ryan Preece
16. Erik Jones
17. AJ Allmendinger
18. Christopher Bell
19. Todd Gilliland
20. Chase Briscoe
21. Jenson Button
22. Ross Chastain
23. Josh Bilicki
24. Brad Keselowski
25. Noah Gragson
26. Andy Lally
27. Daniel Suarez
28. Tyler Reddick
30. Harrison Burton
31. Bubba Wallace
32. Martin Truex Jr.
33. Ryan Blaney
34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
35. Ty Dillon
36. Austin Dillon
37. Alex Bowman