The Kaulig Racing driver briefly led on merit around the halfway mark of what was to have been a 113-lap race, if not for two Overtime finishes.

He was on the outside of Row 2 for the first of those restarts but the #97 Chevrolet ran out of fuel just as the field took the green flag, and would ultimate finish 22nd.

Several who had been around van Gisbergen fared even worse at that first Overtime restart, with Jesse Love (#2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) making side-to-side contact with Parker Kligerman (#48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet) as he tried to take the lead.

Josh Williams (#11 Kaulig Chevrolet) got loose on their outside and Sheldon Creed (Joe Gibbs Racing) even looser when he got a touch from behind from Sammy Smith (#8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet), causing his #18 Toyota to slew sideways.

Creed unloaded Williams, who consequently spun into Kligerman, with Love in front when the sixth Caution of the afternoon was called.

Sammy Smith was second but then he too ran out of fuel as the field trundled around under yellow flag, meaning it was Love and Leland Honeyman (#42 Young’s Motorsport Chevrolet) on the front row for the next attempt at finishing the race, with van Gisbergen 22nd.

The race went green again and stayed that way despite Ryan Ellis (#43 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet) spinning from back in the pack.

Love was challenged on the final lap when Brennan Poole (#44 Alpha Prime Chevrolet) ranged up on his outside but he held on, as Riley Herbst (#98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford) charged through the middle to snatch second place.

Van Gisbergen’s finish of 22nd, making him last of those on the lead lap, was one of a number of hard luck stories from the afternoon.

He finished the first stage in seventh position after qualifying 18th, profiting from sitting in the outside lane for most of those first 25 laps.

Love won that stage, which ended slightly early with a Caution on Lap 25 when Justin Allgaier (#7 JRM Chevrolet), who had been running fifth, spun into the infield wall after a touch from Herbst exiting Turn 2.

In Stage 2, Chandler Smith (#81 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) was leading late in the piece until Austin Hill (#21 Chevrolet) dived past on Lap 47 and brought RCR team-mate Love with him.

AJ Allmendinger (#16 Kaulig Chevrolet) then jumped out of the top lane and made a bid for first spot in the final two laps of the stage.

When the green-and-white chequered flag flew at the end of Lap 50, it was Hill leading Love and Allmendinger, with van Gisbergen 13th after bouncing around between 10th and 22nd.

The second pit stop cycle came in the stage break and Love was first out of the lane, from Brandon Jones (#9 JRM Chevrolet) and Chandler Smith, with Hill in 12th after some adjustments and van Gisbergen 20th.

Love led initially but Jones jumped out on Lap 57 and took the lead, then Ryan Sieg (#39 RSS Racing Ford) did likewise on Lap 61.

Sammy Smith was moving forward via the bottom lane on Lap 62 and van Gisbergen was sitting just behind the #8 Chevrolet.

Sammy Smith took the lead but then van Gisbergen went on with it on the low lane and he led on merit on Lap 63.

The New Zealander quickly slipped back to about eighth, with Sammy Smith back in front, as they ran in a bunch up the front.

On Lap 65, a Caution came when Kligerman spun Jones into the wall after those two and Sieg converged on the middle lane, with van Gisbergen just avoiding being caught in the crash but several others not so fortunate.

Hill was back in the lead by then, with Sammy Smith second, and everyone was into the pits when the lane opened at the end of Lap 69 with most taking fuel only.

Hill retained top spot and went to the outside of the front row for the restart, leaving Sieg on the inside, with Cole Custer (#00 SHR Ford) and Chandler Smith on Row 2, then Herbst and van Gisbergen on Row 3.

Sieg led away and the SHR Fords went together on the low line to slot in behind, before Herbst jumped out and grabbed the lead by the end of that Lap 73 restart.

The field was under Caution again on Lap 74 due to debris in the form of a stray bumper cover.

When unleashed again on Lap 79, Herbst and Sieg moved clear but Hill surged forward and van Gisbergen was also vying for top spot on the bottom lane.

The Kiwi could not stay there and dropped back outside the top 10 as he retreated to the high line again, but Hill did nose ahead of Herbst on Lap 83.

Kligerman, Hill, and Anthony Alfredo (#5 Our Motorsports Chevrolet) worked together to break up the Fords and wrest the ascendancy from them, while Sieg had to pit with a flat right-front tyre.

With just over 20 laps to go, Alfredo led Kligerman, Hill, Sheldon Creed (#18 JGR Toyota) in a somewhat lonesome Supra, and van Gisbergen had recovered to fifth.

Custer and Herbst both had their time at the front again with about 16 laps to go, while van Gisbergen lost momentum when he had to slow in response to Creed unsettling Alfredo just in front of him and dropped as far back as 14th.

A train of Love, Kligerman, and Hill was back in front with 13 to go, followed by Herbst, with van Gisbergen seventh.

It was a leading group of 18 in single file until those at the back of the bunch began to look for some moves again with half a dozen laps of the scheduled 113 to go.

Three laps later, the front-runners started to jump out of line, and Hill rounded up team-mate Love on Lap 112.

It was a shortlived lead though, with Kligerman giving the rear of #21 a rub which caused Hill to hit the wall and then get turned by Alfredo, setting off a multi-car incident, a Caution, and the Overtime finish which cruelled van Gisbergen.

The Cup race, for which van Gisbergen also qualified on Row 9, starts on Sunday at 15:00 ET/Monday at 05:00 AEST.

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