Shane van Gisbergen secured a commendable sixth place in the 95-lap NASCAR Cup race at Circuit of the Americas this morning, though tyre issues hindered his chances for victory.
Van Gisbergen began the race with strong momentum, gaining two positions by the end of the first lap. By Lap 2, he had passed Carson Hocevar at Turn 1, moving into the top three.
With the leaders, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, in sight, van Gisbergen intensified his efforts. By Lap 5, he pressured Wallace into a critical mistake, resulting in a penalty that dropped Wallace to eighth and allowed van Gisbergen to ascend to second place.
As he continued to pursue Reddick, van Gisbergen narrowed the gap from 1.4 seconds to just two-tenths by Lap 9. He then executed a decisive pass at Turn 6A on Lap 10, claiming the lead of the race.
Maintaining his position over Kyle Busch, who was now in second, van Gisbergen continued to lead as he approached the final laps of Stage 1.
Both drivers then made their first pit stops on Lap 18, exiting the pits almost side by side. Van Gisbergen narrowly retained his lead, but ultimately finished Stage 1 in third, behind Wallace and Joey Logano, who opted to stay out for stage points.
At the start of Stage 2, van Gisbergen took the lead when the top drivers pitted. Although Busch surged ahead at the restart, Van Gisbergen was briefly able to defend his position before Busch reclaimed the lead at Turn 1 on the following lap.
Busch began to pull away, but van Gisbergen fought back, retaking the lead on Lap 35. He held onto it for eight laps before making his second pit stop. Busch followed him in and ultimately got around van Gisbergen as they exited the pits, seizing the effective lead with just two laps remaining in Stage 2.
The stage concluded on Lap 45, with non-stopping drivers Ryan Preece, Ryan Blaney, and Michael McDowell staying out for stage points while van Gisbergen finished fifth.
As Stage 3 commenced, Preece and Blaney pitted, leaving McDowell in the lead. Starting third in this stage, van Gisbergen quickly lost a position to A.J. Allmendinger at the restart, but managed to regain a spot in the top three by passing the struggling McDowell.
Shortly afterwards, a collision between Trackhouse teammates Daniel Suarez and Connor Zillsch prompted another yellow flag. When the race resumed on Lap 54, van Gisbergen struggled with his cold tyres and slipped to sixth. Then as the front runners started to make their final pit stops, van Gisbergen chose to stay out to give him fresher tyres for the final stint.
With 21 laps remaining, he made his final stop, rejoining in eighth position, over 15 seconds behind the leaders.
Just three laps later, it seemed as though van Gisbergen’s progress was limited, but a caution for Austin Dillon’s spin with 18 laps to go provided him an opportunity to showcase his fresh rubber.
Unfortunately, when the race restarted five laps later, he struggled once again with tyre performance, dropping to tenth place on the restart. Despite these challenges, van Gisbergen fought hard in the final laps, managing to reclaim sixth on the final lap, following his move on Chris Buescher.
Christopher Bell emerged as the victor of the race, followed closely by William Byron, Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Busch, with van Gisbergen crossing the finish line in sixth place.
Despite not achieving the result he had hoped for, van Gisbergen put forth a commendable effort, earning a solid total of 45 points—second only to Busch in terms of points accrued during the race.
After Round 3 of the season at Circuit of the Americas, van Gisbergen has climbed to 18th in the overall standings, now 53 points behind Series Leader Byron.
He will return to the track this weekend for Round 4 of the season, competing at Phoenix Raceway on the 1.645-kilometer dogleg oval.
Header Image: Shane van Gisbergen Facebook
