It was an unforgettable finish for Shane van Gisbergen in his NASCAR Cup Series debut on a rainy Sunday in downtown Chicago. The 34-year-old New Zealander raced against Justin Haley and Chase Elliott in the series’ first street race, eventually taking the lead to become the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in Daytona in 1963.
Van Gisbergen spoke of the thrilling experience during his post-race interview on NBC, praising the crowd and his opponents for being respectful and making it a lot of fun. He remarked, “Man, what an experience, and the crowd out here, like this was so cool. The racing was really good. Everyone was respectful. It was tough but a lot of fun.”
A nail-biting moment for all involved, Shane van Gisbergen emerges as the winner of the historic NASCAR Cup Series debut in Chicago – proving that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
Driving for Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91, van Gisbergen took the lead on Lap 25 and never looked back, despite a 90 minute rain delay that threatened to derail his efforts.
Van Gisbergen was aided by Darian Grubb, who was crew chief to Tony Stewart when he won the 2011 Cup Series Championship. When asked about van Gisbergen’s performance after the race, fellow driver Elliott quipped “He’s going to go home and tell all his friends how bad we are!”
The historic race was scheduled for 100 laps and 220 miles but had to be shortened due to fading sunlight caused by the rain delay. The Xfinity Race originally scheduled for the day was suspended due to lightning and eventually cancelled.
With Project 91’s win in Chicago, they have achieved their goal of expanding their global reach and showcased van Gisbergen’s remarkable talents.
As the skies opened up and rain poured down on the Motor City, pole-sitter Denny Hamlin took to Twitter to call for a delay. A video posted by Noah Gragson showed one of his tires floating on puddledpit road, and NASCAR decided drivers could return to their haulers until conditions improved.
When the race started, there were still puddles on the track – but teams quickly broke out their slick tires as the circuit began to dry out. The course became increasingly treacherous as water splashed everywhere when drivers slid off the track and into tire barriers. Gragson, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano all visited Turn 6’s tire wall, while Hamlin and Elliott went for an unintended spin in Turn 2. An unfortunate encounter with Bubba Wallace saw Ricky Stenhouse Jr become stuck in Turn 1’s tire barrier late in the race.
The day’s excitement climaxed with a 14-car pileup on Michigan Avenue during lap 50, bringing back memories for regular Chicago commuters who have experienced this type of traffic jam all too frequently.