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The Kaulig Racing driver made nose-to-tail contact with the race-leading #21 Chevrolet at Turn 16 taking both wide and allowing Kyle Larson to snatch victory.
At the start of the preceding lap, it had been van Gisbergen who was nudged wide by Hill at the second and final Overtime restart, causing the #97 Camaro to drop from first position to third at the time.
In the end, the final-lap payback was a moot point for the New Zealander once he was slapped with a 30-second time penalty for cutting a corner, although he was glad to have dished it out.
“It was a crazy race, we got better and better, the WeatherTech Camaro was awesome,” said van Gisbergen on Fox Sports (United States) before he was notified of the penalty.
“That last restart, he just drove through me at [Turn] 1, so I guess that’s how it is here, I just stood up for myself.
“But, it was some pretty awesome racing with AJ [Allmendinger] and Kyle [Larson] and then at the end it just turned into a mess, but that’s how it is.
What a thrilling finish in #NASCAROvertime! pic.twitter.com/VkBVddChUQ
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) March 23, 2024
“It was really fun, but I wish I could have got the lead, but Kyle just snuck through there – he was driving really well – but, yeah, a lot of fun.”
Shane van Gisbergen was unrepentant after pushing Austin Hill out of the lead on the final lap of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Circuit of The Americas.
Hill, however, claimed van Gisbergen drew the contact at Turn 1 by lifting off the throttle unusually early.
“The restart, I thought it was somewhat clean,” opined the Richard Childress Racing driver, who won the first two races of the season an regained the series lead with second place at COTA.
“I mean, it seemed like the 97 lifted super-early – I’m not real sure why he lifted so early – and then he started wheel-hopping once I got into the back of him into [Turn] 1.
“Then we cleared him and I’m trying to run as hard as I can but not over-drive the corners and thought I was doing everything right into [Turns] 15 and 16 there – like, trying to protect – and ultimately just got ran over.
“[It] knocked his nose in, so it kind of shows how hard he ran into me.”
Van Gisbergen remains 14th in the Xfinity Series standings, and has qualified 12th for the Cup Series race which starts tomorrow at 15:30 ET/06:30 AEDT.
