The penultimate race of the Cup Series represented van Gisbergen’s 14th start in the premier class since his 2023 debut on the streets of Chicago and just his eighth oval race in the category.

The 12th place finish with Kaulig Racing represented his best result since Talladega Superspeedway where he was 15th.

Van Gibergen was one of 17 cars to finish on the lead lap. It marked a turnaround for the #16 driver having been a race-low two laps down in Stage 1.

“Man, that was a long race, but really fun,” van Gisbergen told Frontstretch for Speedcafe.

“We took a risk in the first stage and it didn’t pay off. We were two laps down and Andrew [Dickeson, crew chief] did a great job getting us back on the lead lap.

“I felt really good when I could get clean air and we were ripping pretty good lap times. It was a lot of fun. We had a really good Chevy there, 12th is amazing. I’m super stoked.”

Our best Martinsville race BY FAR!

Extremely proud of how far we’ve come at this track. 👊

One to go in 2024! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ptBovse7LR

— Kaulig Racing (@KauligRacing) November 4, 2024

Van Gisbergen noted his progression, comparing the “normal” Cup Series car to the alien Xfinity Series machine.

“Every time in a Cup car I get more and more comfortable,” he explained.

“The cars feel normal. The Xfinity car feels weird, it feels like a forklift the way I drive. Whereas, this just feels like every other race car.

“I just need time but every time I jump in this race car I just feel like I’m getting better and enjoying it. That was really cool to run up the front with some good guys.”

Van Gisbergen has just one Xfinity Series outing with Kaulig Racing remaining this year before going full-time in the Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing in 2025.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series comes to a close on November 10 before the Cup Series concludes a day late on November 11.

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