Van Gisbergen caught in costly Talladega tangle
The Playoff prospects of Shane van Gisbergen have taken a massive hit after he was caught in a crash in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Talladega.
Van Gisbergen was taken out by a spinning Dean Thompson on Lap 76 of 94 in the United Rentals 250 won by Sammy Smith, who went from the bottom of the Playoff standings to the top.
The Kiwi was sixth before the race-ending wreck on the tri-oval section.
It was costly for his Playoff hopes, undoing his good work at Kansas and now sits 26 points below the cutoff line with only one race to go.
Van Gisbergen was an unlucky victim, sitting on the apron before an out of control Thompson hit the #97, sending it straight into the pack.
We were pretty loose so it was pretty tough, but the WeatherTech Camaro was fast,” van Gisbergen said.
“I got pushed out of line and put myself in a bad spot. I thought I saved it and then some other stuff happened and I got caught up in it. That sucks. I am gutted for Kaulig Racing.”
After a strong qualifying performance putting the #97 Kaulig Racing Camaro in eighth with a 53.037s time, 0.459s off Jesse Love, van Gisbergen held a top 10 place across the opening laps.
However, he dropped to 23rd after being shuffled out and losing touch with the lead pack in a clean opening stage.
But it was a different story in Stage 2 where the Kiwi made a stunning charge from 22nd to fourth in the final laps.
What made the comeback even more impressive was the fact SVG had to catch up to the lead train he had lost touch with before making good use of the middle and top lane.
It all happened after he was lucky to miss the first major incident of the day where Nick Leitz spun into Jeremy Clements following a chain reaction that started at the very front of the field.
Van Gisbergen took the opportunity to pit and then put the foot down.
The Kiwi maintained the track position he gained across the opening 20 laps of the stage before they arrived on the pit straight of where the #97 was sent to the apron.
He appeared safe below the track, only Jordan Anderson to get into the back of Thompson.
This sent the #26 spinning straight into an unlucky van Gisbergen, who was rotated 90 degrees and on a collision course with Taylor Gray, Austin Hill and Anderson.
Whilst SVG was unable to escape, Hill did and carried on with a patched up car and finish in the top 20.
Just as Sammy Smith took the lead, a big crash at the front of the field brought out the reds.
Carson Kvapil got loose from a push by Brandon Jones, sending the pair spinning from the top five.
The chaos saw a number of big names get taken out with Playoff drivers Justin Allgaier and Cole Custer the big losers.
The red flag sent the race into Overtime with Herbst and Sammy Smith leading the way.
The top four broke away but were interlocked throughout the first half of the penultimate lap.
Herbst took the white flag with the lead, but got swallowed up by the pack seeing the two Smiths swoop past through turns 1 and 2.
A push from Sieg sent Sammy Smith into the lead and the #8 held the pack at bay through the tri-oval to take a vital win, transforming his Playoff hopes and booking a ticket to the Round of 8.
Van Gisbergen will be hoping for a similar result in the final race of the Round of 12 at the Charlotte Roval where the Kiwi is expected to perform and needs to gain enough points to advance to the Round of 8.
“We have just got to prepare well, turn up with a fast car and get as many points as we can, hopefully getting through okay,” van Gisbergen said of the now critical trip to Charlotte.
“Tracks like this are different to next week so hopefully we can have a smooth day.”
Before then, van Gisbergen will return to the NASCAR Cup Series in what will be a wild 500 mile race starting from a respectable 17th with Fox Sports coverage commencing at 4.30 AEST.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff standings
1: Sammy Smith (Advanced)
2: Chandler Smith +57
3: Austin Hill +29
4: Cole Custer +28
5: Sheldon Creed +25
6: Jesse Love +15
7: Riley Herbst +13
8: Sam Mayer +10
9: AJ Allmendinger -10
10: Justin Allgaier -18
11: Shane van Gisbergen -21
12: Parker Kligerman -26
Photo by John K Harrelson / NKP / LAT Images
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