‘Sorry I’m not good enough’: SVG out of NASCAR Playoffs

Just after going three laps down, the Trackhouse Racing driver was spun on Lap 238 thanks to a hit by the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro of William Byron.

On Lap 269, van Gisbergen suffered his second spin when the #10 Kaulig Racing Camaro ran into the back of the #88 Camaro.

To that point, the Kiwi had kept his cool but let loose at Dillon.

“I mean, fuck,” said van Gisbergen. “What is he thinking?”

The race was punctuated by extreme tyre wear that was so bad that NASCAR and Goodyear allocated an extra set of tyres to every car.

Van Gisbergen was among the worst off. He spent the first half of the race complaining of a tight Camaro, which turned loose in the second half.

In the end, van Gisbergen finished 26th while Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell in the #20 Toyota Camry blitzed the final restart to take victory.

“Thanks for hanging in there all night man,” said van Gisbergen’s crew chief, Stephen Doran.

“Good job recovering a little bit at the end.”

Van Gisbergen replied: “Nah, thank you guys. Sorry I’m not good enough. If I get better at this shit, we’ll have a crack next year. Thanks for having a good go at it with me.”

After a frenetic few hundred laps, a high-speed crash for 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace entering Turn 1 brought the yellow out on Lap 488 to set up a dash to the chequered flag.

That crash began when RFK Racing driver Brad Keselowski in the #6 Ford Mustang bumped Haas Factory Team’s Cole Custer in the #41 Mustang. Custer got loose and hit Wallace who was trying to go around the outside.

On the restart with four laps to go, Carson Hocevar in the #77 Spire Motorsport Camaro led Zane Smith in the #38 Front Row Motorsports Mustang.

Alex Bowman was the best-placed Playoffs driver in third driving the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ahead of RFK Racing owner-driver Keselowski.

Bell surged to the lead entering Turn 1 while Hocevar and Smith struggled to get any grip.

.@CBellRacing sustains the hit and secures the win! 🏁 #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/UZxuCRlXAa

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 14, 2025

Fourth-placed Keselowski made his way through to second and gave Bell a good run for the lead. On the final lap, Keselowski put the nose of his Mustang to the rear of the race-leading Camry but couldn’t find his way through and Bell clinched victory.

“Well, I’ll tell you what, I was nervous on the choose,” said Bell.

“I didn’t know if I wanted to be on the bottom or the top, and whenever Brad picked the top they really didn’t give me an option and had to pick the bottom.

“All night long, I don’t know, old tyres just really, really pushed up in the middle of the corners so I was hoping that those guys on old tyres would push up and they did.

“I was able to get by or get underneath Bowman. It wasn’t pretty there at the end, but we got her done.

“So most importantly this week’s obviously been a very tough week, and there’s a lot on our mind and and just this one’s for Charlie (Kirk).

“We just know that any given week, it could be us, and it hadn’t been us for a long time. But Bristol, baby! Tonight, it does!”

Bell joined fellow Toyota drivers Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin as Round of 16 race winners.

The drivers eliminated after Bristol were Austin Dillon (#3 Richard Childress Racing Camaro), Alex Bowman (#348 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro), Josh Berry (#21 Wood Brothers Racing), and van Gisbergen.

Van Gisbergen was the second driver below the cut-off line behind Dillon.

The Trackhouse Racing driver’s season continues at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Monday, September 21 (AEST).

Results: NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Bristol Motor Speedway