The Trackhouse Racing driver was running eighth in the middle of the pit stop sequence during Stage 2 when he lost control of his #88 Chevrolet Camaro on Lap 170 of the 350-lapper.
“The left rear is pretty busted,” van Gisbergen said over the radio after hitting the wall.
Earlier in the race, his crew chief Stephen Doran and spotter expressed their concern at how high van Gisbergen was entering the turn.
Replays showed van Gisbergen got loose entering the corner and backed the left rear of the car into the SAFER barrier.
He became the second driver of the weekend to crash at Turn 1 after Kyle Busch wrote his primary car off in qualifying and was forced into a back-up car for the race.
“He wanted a caution, he just didn’t want to be it,” said commentator Jeff Burton.
“Over and over, this weekend, that has been the trouble spot. Just a few laps before, Denny Hamlin almost did it.”
Despite the crash and pitting for repairs, van Gisbergen only dropped one lap to the leaders.
The No. 88 goes for a big slide in Turn 2! pic.twitter.com/xJXgzgIUvJ
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 3, 2025
Prior to green flag pit stops, the Kiwi had been running just outside of the top 20.
Van Gisbergen complained about the balance of his car when asked for feedback in the laps leading up to the incident. He noted the car would fire off good, get loose in and build tight in the corner.
“I don’t know. I know that doesn’t help you,” he said. “It’s a bit of a shitbox. I don’t really know what to say.”
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney led fellow Ford Mustang driver Brad Keselowski of RFK Racing with 34 laps to go in Stage 2.
The race resumed briefly, only for the caution to come out for a second time when the #51 Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang of Cody Ware spun.
Van Gisbergen missed out on his first opportunity to get the Lucky Dog, which went to his Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain in the #1 Chevrolet Camaro.
When asked for feedback on how his car felt, van Gisbergen said: “I’ve got massive brake shake. It’s moving around a bit. Something’s not perfect in the rear.”
Just shy of Stage 2 finishing, Ty Dillon in the #10 Kaulig Racing Camaro spun off the nose of the #34 Front Row Motorsports Mustang of Todd Gilliland.
That set up a two-lap dash to the green chequered flag.
Van Gisbergen’s team thought he had done enough to get the Lucky Dog at the end of the Stage 2 break. However, the yellow was flown before van Gisbergen completed the pass on Gilliland as the first car one lap down.
FRK Racing’s Brad Keselowski in the #6 Mustang won Stage 1 and Stage 2.
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