Shane van Gisbergen wins Chicago NASCAR race in Overtime

Shane van Gisbergen has won a chaotic Chicago street race on his NASCAR Cup Series debut, surviving an Overtime finish in the Project91 Camaro.

The three-time Supercars champion was charging home and had already passed Justin Haley for the lead once, but did so just as a Caution was called and had to redress the move.

However, when they took the green flag again with five laps remaining as the race restarted for an eighth time, van Gisbergen picked off the #31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet at Turn 2.

Haley fought back with a move back down the inside at the Turn 3 sweeper but then van Gisbergen dived ahead again at Turn 4.

The New Zealander was soon more than a full second ahead in the #91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet but the contest was not over just yet.

A Caution was called on Lap 73 of 75 when Bubba Wallace (#23 23XI Racing Toyota) shunted the #47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet of Ricky Stenhouse Jnr into the tyre wall at Turn 1, meaning Overtime awaited.

The first attempt at a two-lap dash to the finish began on Lap 77, van Gisbergen exiting Turn 13 well on Lap 76 and comfortable leading the field back through Turn 1.

He was 0.756s up as they took the white flag and would greet the chequered flag 1.259s clear of the rest, on an afternoon when he had been among the front-runners before a Caution and a shortening of the race shuffled the deck.

The rest of the top 10 at the finish was Haley, Chase Elliott (#9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet), Kyle Larson (#5 Hendrick Chevrolet), Kyle Busch (#8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet), Austin Cindric (#2 Team Penske Ford), Michael McDowell (#34 Front Row Motorsports Ford), Joey Logano (#22 Penske Ford), Ty Gibbs (#54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota), and Chris Buescher (#17 RFK Racing Ford).

The start of the race was initially brought forward 25 minutes to 17:05 ET (07:05 AEST) due to the threat of adverse weather, only for heavy rain and standing water to cause a delay of around an hour relative to the original green flag time.

Tyler Reddick (#45 Toyota) went to the outside of pole-sitter Denny Hamlin (#11 JGR Toyota) at Turn 1 and they ran side-by-side until the 23XI driver prevailed with the inside line at Turn 4.

Worse was to follow for Hamlin when he slid into the tyre barrier on his own on Lap 2 at Turn 2, meaning his JGR team-mate Christopher Bell (#20 Toyota) inherited second place, having overtaken van Gisbergen for third on Lap 1 at Turn 5.

Reddick was around six seconds to the good when a Caution was called on Lap 3 due to Busch stuffing his #8 RCR Chevrolet into the Turn 6 tyre wall.

Daniel Suarez (#99 Trackhouse Chevrolet) sat fourth under the yellow flag and McDowell fifth, while Hamlin was 12th and Busch resumed on the lead lap in 37th once he was pulled out of the barriers.

While the rain had stopped, conditions remained tricky and it was a single-file restart on Lap 6.

The top three skipped clear when McDowell eventually completed a move on Suarez on Lap 7, before Reddick slipped wide at Turn 6 on Lap 9 and Bell drove into the lead.

Bell was almost three seconds up the road, with Reddick’s mirrors being filled up by van Gisbergen, when Noah Gragson (#42 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet) got stuck in the Turn 6 tyre wall and triggered a second Caution.

A handful pitted, but none of the front-runners which by then included Martin Truex Jnr (#19 JGR Toyota) in fourth and McDowell in fifth, before the Lap 16 restart.

Stage 1 ended on Lap 20, without a Caution, at which point the aforementioned top five was unchanged and hence Bell collected the 10 points.

By then, though, some of the backmarkers had started to pit for slicks, although Logano and Elliott still had run-ins with the barriers while Jenson Button (#15 Rick Ware Racing Ford) was unloaded at pit entry.

Meanwhile, van Gisbergen passed Reddick on the race track for second place on Lap 23 and inherited the official lead when both the #20 and #45 Camrys were into the pits for slicks on Lap 25.

Van Gisbergen went one lap longer before he did likewise and resumed in an effective second spot.

Bell’s margin over the #91 Camaro was about nine seconds when the third Caution of the afternoon was called on Lap 30, with Gragson again stuck in the Turn 6 tyre barrier.

Reddick was a close third at the time, from Truex Jnr and Suarez, with Hamlin 12th.

On the Lap 34 restart, Reddick dived past van Gisbergen for second, but Truex Jnr was shuffled back a couple of spots as he tried to capitalise.

Larson could therefore go under van Gisbergen for third on Lap 35 at Turn 6 and Suarez followed.

Truex Jnr then divebombed the #91 Chevrolet at Turn 1 on Lap 36 but broke into a slide, scraping the wall on exit and instead dropping to eighth.

Larson overtook Reddick for second spot on Lap 39, by which time Bell was three seconds ahead.

However, that lead was wiped out when a Caution was called on Lap 40 after Hamlin unloaded Alex Bowman at Turn 11 in the battle for 11th, leaving the #48 Hendrick Chevrolet stranded.

A handful of backmarkers pitted before the race returned to green on Lap 44, at which point Suarez understeered into a glancing blow with the wall at Turn 1 and dropped to eighth.

Van Gisbergen and McDowell assumed fourth and fifth respectively before a Caution on Lap 45, the final lap of Stage 2, due to Bowman’s car stopping on track with no oil pressure.

Bell thus scooped another 10 stage points but the cat was thrown amongst the pigeons when NASCAR advised that the race had been shortened to 75 laps due to the late start and looming darkness.

While most of the field was able to use the ongoing Caution to pit for their final stint, some had already taken a second stop and hence the running order was shaken up.

Haley was the biggest beneficiary as he assumed the lead, from Austin Dillon (#3 RCR Chevrolet), Elliott, Logano, and William Byron (#24 Hendrick Chevrolet), while the unlucky bunch were headed by Bell in 12th, from Larson, Reddick, Ty Gibbs (#54 JGR Toyota), McDowell, Suarez, and van Gisbergen in 18th.

Unsurprisingly, chaos followed, almost as soon as the race restarted on Lap 49.

Byron understeered into the barriers at Turn 11 while Kevin Harvick (#4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford) spun not far behind, possibly due to contact from Corey LaJoie (#7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet).

The twin incidents caused the track to become blocked, with Bell among those who were trapped but Reddick and Gibbs among those in the previously front-running group to get through.

Once the order was corrected, it was still Haley in front, with Reddick seventh and Gibbs eighth, while Larson was 14th, from Bell, McDowell, Suarez, and van Gisbergen.

Upon the sixth restart of the race, on Lap 53, Truex Jnr spun at Turn 4, possibly with some help, while Suarez incurred bodywork damage as a result of contact with Todd Gilliland (#38 Front Row Ford).

Reddick was making steady progress back through the field, passing Busch for fifth on Lap 56 and then Logano for fourth on Lap 57, before disaster struck next time around.

The 23XI Racing pilot became the latest driver to thump the tyre wall at Turn 6, and found his #54 Camry stuck when he tried to reverse.

Moments earlier, Bell had also skated into the barriers, at Turn 1, although he was able to continue at the time.

With a seventh Caution called on Lap 58, it was Haley in front from Dillon, Elliott, Busch, Logano, Gibbs, Cindric, van Gisbergen, Larson, and McDowell rounding out the top 10, while Bell was 32nd and Reddick 35th.

They took the green again on Lap 61, with Cindric, van Gisbergen, and Larson all getting by Gibbs on that restart lap to run sixth through ninth, respectively.

Meanwhile, Dillon had been applying huge pressure to Haley until he glanced the inside wall at Turn 13 on Lap 62, which fired him hard into the outside barriers.

The RCR driver would eventually reverse into pit lane at the other end of the main straight as Haley’s lead jumped to 1.8s, over Elliott.

Armed with fresher rubber, van Gisbergen and Larson were on a charge.

They cleared Cindric on Lap 63 and Logano on Lap 64, and while Larson’s progress stalled then, van Gisbergen went on with it.

The top three were nose-to-tail with 10 laps to go before SVG picked off Elliott for second place on Lap 68 at Turn 2, and began to hound Haley.

He made the pass five corners later, but did so just as a Caution was called for Truex Jnr sliding into the tyre barrier at Turn 1 with the brakes glowing on the #19 Camry.

NASCAR confirmed that the move had not been completed before the yellows were thrown and van Gisbergen redressed.

The order under Caution 8 was therefore Haley, van Gisbergen, Elliott, Busch, Larson, Logano, Cindric, McDowell, Gibbs, and Aric Almirola (#10 SHR Ford) in 10th, with Hamlin 13th and Bell 22nd ahead of the thrilling conclusion.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series continues at Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend (July 8-9, local time).

VIDEO: Shane van Gisbergen NASCAR onboard

Results: Race