Join us for live updates on Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR appearance on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
Van Gisbergen lines up from eighth on the grid and has shown great pace. Fellow Supercars star Brodie Kostecki starts from the rear but was also quick in qualifying until his late crash.
The race comes just two days after van Gisbergen made his truck series and oval debut at the nearby Indianapolis Raceway Park on Saturday afternoon, where he finished 19th.
Also featuring in the field are the 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button and 2022 World Endurance Champion Kamui Kobayashi.
Race Report to follow.
Live Updates
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Bell and van Gisbergen talking and shaking hands following the race. These two have been inseparable over both of van Gisbergen’s races. It was the American who got the better of the Kiwi this time for ninth, but he was made to work for it.
Chequered Flag: McDowell keeps his nerve and holds on for the victory! Elliott second and Suarez third.
Van Gisbergen comes home in tenth.
“Didn’t quite have the pace, but a top 10 is awesome,” he says to his team over the radio at the chequered flag. Trackhouse Racing is pleased with his performance.
Kostecki finishes 22nd, a commendable result from his starting position of 39th.
Jenson Button is 28th, and Kobayashi, who was unlucky to be spun twice, is 33rd.
It’s a great burnout from McDowell!
Lap 80: Two laps to run. The top 10 looks good for van Gisbergen, but Buescher has closed in behind.
Lap 78: Four to go and no changes. McDowell is two seconds clear and looks set to secure his place in the playoffs. It’ll be his second career win if he holds on. Only half a second between Bell and SVG still.
Lap 75: McDowell looks to have this wrapped up unless there’s a late caution. Seven to go. Kostecki has dropped to 23rd, having boxed again on Lap 66.
Lap 72: Reddick is all over Suarez for third. This battle will only let the lead two pull further clear again. Van Gisbergen is still on the tail of Bell, while Buescher, who has won the past two races, has dropped two seconds back in 11th.
Ten laps to go.
Lap 70: Just 12 laps left to run. Bell is still ahead under a second, as is Larson in eighth. McDowell has traffic ahead in the lead. Suarez has made up good time on the lead pair from third, as has Reddick in fourth.
Lap 66: Kobayashi is spun again after Stenhouse Jr makes hard contact from behind.
Lap 64: Back into the top 10! Brad Keselowski makes a stop and elevates van Gisbergen back into the top 10. He’s in a chain of cars and only three seconds off fifth place.
Kostecki has also moved up to 17th, a huge drive from 39th on the grid.
Amazingly, all 39 cars are still running, including Haley, despite his massive Lap 2 shunt. It’s a true testament to how strong these cars are.
Lap 63: Van Gisbergen gains another spot when Hamlin comes in for his second stop. There’s a bit of lapped traffic around.
Lap 60: Not a lot of change, Bell half a second ahead and Buescher right behind. A top-10 finish is on the cards here, but a caution would probably help to reduce the gap to the leaders.
Lap 57: McDowell’s lead over Elliott is 3 seconds. Suarez is a further 5.5 seconds down the road in third, his slow stop having cost him. SVG is up to 12th, 22 seconds off the lead.
Lap 55: Up to 13th as the pit cycle continues to play out.
Lap 54: He’s back behind Larson and Bell, right on the tail of the latter.
Lap 51: SVG in. Good stop, and he returns 15th with a couple ahead still not having come in.
Lap 50: Slow stop for Suarez! Van Gisbergen is in the lead but hasn’t made his second stop yet.
Lap 49: Van Gisbergen moves into fifth as Briscoe, Truex Jr, and McDowell come in for a stop. Kostecki is also in. Second stops are set to re-shake the order.
Lap 48: The front three have pulled an eight-second gap over fourth-placed Tyler Reddick, but all are beginning to show signs of tyre wear. Suarez bumps into Elliott and re-takes second.
Lap 45: There goes Larson, also! Ninth now, with Truex Jr a couple of seconds up the road. Kostecki has also moved into 19th.
Lap 44: SVG passes Bell! Back in the top 10, and he has pace on Larson ahead.
Lap 43: There’s a pack consisting of Truex Jr, Bell and Van Gisbergen, who are running ninth through eleventh, respectively. All three came in for their stops much later than the leaders and have much fresher tyres.
Lap 41: We’re at the halfway point. Van Gisbergen is 11th and making quick ground on Bell. The pair are 17 seconds behind leader McDowell and second-placed Elliott, but this race is far from done. Buescher has dropped well back behind.
Lap 38: Great pass on Buescher to move to 11th! Van Gisbergen follows Bell around cars again. Where have we seen this before…?
Lap 36: Two of those ahead come in for their stops. McDowell takes the overall lead over Elliott and Suarez. Van Gisbergen jumps to 12th and is right on the tail of Chris Buescher. His tyres are a lot fresher than a lot of those ahead.
End of Stage 2: McDowell makes a move on Suarez late in the stage to move to second overall. Denny Hamlin, who has not stopped, wins the stage.
Lap 32: SVG is up to 14th. He’s making good ground on Bell ahead. Kostecki also having a great race and has moved up to 22nd, having started 39th.
Lap 31: Van Gisbergen gets past Austin Cindric, and AJ Allmendinger spins ahead following contact from Ryan Blaney. Van Gisbergen avoids the pair and moves up to 15th in one swoop.
Lap 30: SVG fastest car on the track. He’s up to 18th, while Kostecki is 25th.
Lap 27: Van Gisbergen up to 19th. The team increased air pressures on the last stop, and it seems to be working.
Lap 26: Up to 20th. Bell finally comes in for his stop from the lead.
Lap 23: SVG pits. It’s a clean stop. He emerges 21st, with several ahead having not yet stopped.
Lap 21: Clear is working wonders for Bell, who is putting in some quick laps and extending his lead.
Lap 18: Van Gisbergen has moved up to second by staying out, but he’s lost 3.5 seconds on Bell, who runs in the lead.
Lap 17: SVG is yet to come in, but Kostecki nailed his pit stop, which should help as he continues his charge forward.
End of Stage 1: Once again, these are irrelevant for van Gisbergen, and the race remains green, unlike Friday’s Truck Series race which was neutralised at the end of each stage. SVG finishes the stage in tenth as pit lane wakes up with a flurry of activity.
McDowell finishes the stage with the lead over Suarez.
Lap 14: Van Gisbergen complains of a “sticky throttle” on the radio. He’s pulled a second clear of Truex Jr, who is 11th.
Lap 13: Keeping on the rear of ninth-placed Briscoe, who is losing time on Bowman ahead.
Lap 10: Bowman and van Gisbergen rubbing. Bowman gets through, as does Chase Briscoe, who follows through, and drops van Gisbergen to tenth. Pace isn’t quite there at the moment for the #91, but there’s a long way to run.
Lap 8: Kobayashi tries to dive on Kostecki at Turn 1, runs way wide and drops to 32nd.
Lap 7: Gibbs has dropped way back following a nudge from SVG, which turns him into a spin. Alex Bowman briefly runs eighth, only for SVG to retake the position shortly after.
Lap 5: Green again! Logano locks up into Turn 1 and spins in the mid-field, while Gibbs gets the better of SVG this time around, relegating the Kiwi to ninth. Kostecki is now 30th.
Lap 3: We’re running under caution. Bell was able to take his position back just prior to the yellows. Van Gisbergen is now eighth again. Kostecki has also made ground and is 34th from 39th.
Lap 2: van Gisbergen has already worked past Bell and is seventh. There’s carnage further back!
Joey Logano and Justin Haley come together, the latter running wide at the exit of Turn 6 and making hard contact with the tyre wall. Kobayashi was also spun early in the lap, a rude introduction to the series for the former Formula 1 driver.
Haley returning to pit lane under his own power. Race is under caution.
Green Flag: And we’re racing!
Great start from Suarez, who pulls clear in the front. Van Gisbergen runs three-wide in the pack into Turn 1 and holds his position, bouncing off a fast-starting Ty Gibbs.
6.41 am: “It’s just been a whirlwind. It’s been an awesome experience, and I’m so glad the Project 91 guys have had me back,” van Gisbergen says over the race radio to the NBC commentary team while the field continues rolling in formation.
6.39 am: Cars take to the track in formation.
6.34 am: “Drivers, start your engines!”
6. 30 am: A packed pit road clear clearing out. Not long until we hear those famous four words.
There’s already been Kiwi success on the circuit this weekend, with Hunter McElrea claiming his first win of the Indy NXT season on Saturday and Scott Dixon taking a famous victory in IndyCar yesterday. Can van Gisbergen make it three from three in the races featuring New Zealanders?
6.27 am: Time for the national anthem.
6.25 am: There’s definitely potential for some Turn 1 chaos on the Indianapolis Road Course. The restart zone has been moved to allow for a longer run into the corner and hopefully create some tidier racing.
6.20 am: Green flag will fly just after 6.30 am.
Van Gisbergen’s Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez will start the race from pole, joined on the front row by Tyler Reddick.
Row 2 is made up of Chase Elliott and Michael McDowell, followed by Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson on row three. Christopher Bell joins van Gisbergen on the fourth row, the duo familiar with each other through their battles for the lead in Chicago.
6.05 am: Pre-race buildup is now on. We’re just 25 minutes from green.
