Van Gisbergen gets breakthrough oval result

Shane van Gisbergen has broken through to an impressive maiden top 10 on an oval in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Van Gisbergen rose from 24th to 10th after a strong drive in the #88 Red Bull Trackhouse Racing Camaro in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Having already taken three wins to get into the Playoffs, it is the latest and arguably most important box the Kiwi has ticked in his rookie season.

SVG was lucky to finish, however, surviving a scare with not one, but two Hendrick Motorsports Camaros.

A hit from Will Byron’s #24 pushed van Gisbergen into Alex Bowman’s #48 as the pair rubbed against the wall.

This did not stop the Kiwi from clawing back into the top 10 and securing the spot in the double Overtime finish.

After getting close last weekend, van Gisbergen was delighted to get the result that proves his ovals progression.

“It was really cool to get a top-10 finish at Kansas Speedway,” van Gisbergen said. 

“It was good to do it in a Red Bull car. We’ve had some really cool partners this year and stoked to be able to do it here at Kansas Speedway. 

“I feel like we’re getting better and better at these tracks. 

“It was difficult starting a lap down and having that penalty, but Chais Eliason (interim crew chief) did a great job. 

“We had really good speed at points of the race, so I’m stoked to get a top-10. I’m over the moon with that.”

It was a crazy finish as Zane Smith had a scary slide on the driver’s side door with the car facing 90 degrees.

Surviving all the chaos was Chase Elliott, who, despite being fourth at the start of the final lap, stole the win.

Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin led the train and were bumping each other as they fought for victory through Turns 3 and 4.

But contact led to Wallace hitting the wall, which opened the door for Elliott, who sent it down the inside, barged his way past Hamlin and took a win for the ages.

“Everything worked out perfect for me. Had a great push through (turns) one and two. That kind of all started with the No. 6 (Brad Keselowski),” he said. 

“I had a big run off of two. The seas kind of parted and I just was able to keep my momentum up. That was really it. 

“Obviously we still had pretty good tires compared to those guys, but what a crazy finish. Hope you all enjoyed that. I certainly did. 

“Really proud of this No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet team. Had a really solid weekend, win or no win.

“We’ll certainly enjoy this, man. This is pretty cool. 

“Just never take this stuff for granted because it’s hard to come by. Learned that the hard way, so will always enjoy it and appreciate it.”

Boosted by the oval success, van Gisbergen can be confident of being at the front in the Charlotte Speedway Road Course at 6.00 AEST Monday, October 6.

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