A strong result in this morning’s Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway was on the cards for Shane van Gisbergen until a puncture with 25 laps to go dropped him from contention.
The Kaulig Racing #97 was one of just three cars with fresh tyres available during a late race caution, but contact with the wall after the Lap 175 restart punctured one of them.
Another incident shortly after he punctured brought another caution, allowing the Kiwi to pit under yellow. He would climb back to finish 15th.
Chase Elliott went on to win the race from Brandon Jones and Sammy Smith.
Having qualified 29th, van Gisbergen ran in the mid-field before the first caution on Lap 31, when Riley Herbst made contact with the infield wall following contact from AJ Allmendinger.
The #97 was amongst a large contingent to pit under yellow, and he returned to the midfield to finish the opening stage 21st.
Justin Allgaier won the opening 45-lap stage from Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch.
Once the pit cycle played out, van Gisbergen took Stage 2 starting in 17th but lost ground over the following laps to sit 27th. Another caution was called on Lap 72 when Parker Kligerman spun.
Remaining out under yellow, van Gisbergen took the restart in 14th but lost ground under the green to fall to 23rd at the end of Stage 2 on Lap 90.
Allgaier won his second stage of the day from Busch and Hill.
Van Gisbergen was 17th on the Lap 98 of 200 restart, with Allgaier and Hill sent to the back of the field for speeding in pit lane under caution.
He was 22nd when the next yellow came out when Kyle Sieg spun shortly after the mid-point and climbed to 15th laps after the Lap 114 restart.
An extended period of clean running brought about green flag pit stops from Lap 147, with the Kiwi among the first to come in to climb to 14th once the cycle was complete.
Ryan Ellis then spun at Turn 2 on Lap 168, with Elliott, Smith and van Gisbergen the only ones with sets of new tyres available.
The Kiwi was 12th at the Lap 176 restart, with Noah Gragson at the front ahead of Allgaier and Cole Custer.
Van Gisbergen ran high off the restart but was pushed up into the wall by Taylor Gray, which caused the puncture.
Allgair’s race came undone through the next corners, with contact from after Gibbs putting him into the Turn 4 wall.
Another yellow followed on the next lap following the restart when Austin Hill and Custer came together. This made for an 11-lap dash to the line, with van Gisbergen starting 17th.
He would greet the chequered flag 15th, with Elliott winning by half a second from Jones and Smith.
Van Gisbergen has since qualified 36th for Monday morning’s Coca-Cola 600 in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Header Image: Kaulig Racing
