‘Great points’: Van Gisbergen bags sixth in Atlanta thriller

Van Gisbergen started 12th and stayed out of trouble to be a contender for the win on the final green-white-chequered restart when he lined up fifth.

However, the #97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro got tight in Turn 3 and couldn’t challenge the front-runners for the win coming to the chequered flag.

Van Gisbergen initially crossed the line in seventh but was promoted to sixth after 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace was given a post-race penalty for going below the yellow line and gaining an advantage.

That dropped him to the tail of the lead lap and was classified 29th.

“Just got tight,” van Gisbergen said over his radio.

“Fuck. Sorry guys. A great points night. We needed it.”

The result equalled van Gisbergen’s best effort at the same oval earlier this season.

Ryan Blaney secures a WILD win in OT at EchoPark 🏆 pic.twitter.com/5imwKn4zJg

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 13, 2026

After a three-hour delay for inclement weather, racing finally resumed on Lap 124. Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney led the way with van Gisbergen down in 15th after pit stops.

Van Gisbergen flirted with the top 10 and ended Stage 2 on Lap 161 in 10th after Wallace spun off the nose of Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs coming to the chequered flag.

Bubba Wallace spins out as Ryan Blaney takes Stage 2 at EchoPark 😬 pic.twitter.com/EpWj2Hd0nO

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 13, 2026

SVG left the pit road in eighth and restarted Stage 3 in eighth. He went about his work, plying his way forward to a race-high fourth before Lap 194 when Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger spun on the front stretch.

Following pit stops under the caution, van Gisbergen restarted in 14th after taking four tyres while others elected to take just two.

Van Gisbergen survived a scary moment when Team Penske’s Joey Logano slid up the road and clipped the #97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro.

He wagged the tail of his car and dropped outside the top 15 but soon worked his way back towards the top 10.

Allmendinger brought out the caution again on Lap 232 when he spun coming out of the final corner, this time damaging his Kaulig Racing Camaro beyond repair.

At that moment, van Gisbergen was 11th. He elected to pit under the caution while the front-runners stayed out.

“Not very good this run,” van Gisbergen said over the radio.

“Very out of the track. Built tighter and tighter. My grip level is very low.”

Racing resumed on Lap 238 with Wallace at the head of the field and Blaney alongside. Van Gisbergen, meanwhile, was 12th.

In just a few laps, van Gisbergen made the most of his new tyres and worked his way forward to sixth.

On Lap 241, Larson got loose out of the final turn and spun through the infield.

Blaney led Hocevar for the subsequent Lap 246 restart ahead of Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, and Ross Chastain.

Chase Briscoe and Riley Herbst also pick up damage on another Kyle Larson crash 😳 pic.twitter.com/quqSgssfwl

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 13, 2026

What followed was a frenetic sequence. Van Gisbergen jockeyed for position and got up to fifth before Larson triggered a pile-up.

The Hendrick Motorsport Camaro failed to clear Denny Hamlin and spun off the nose of the Joe Gibbs Racing Camry.

Larson spun and collided with the inside wall. Chase Briscoe spun in avoidance and clipped Austin Hill’s Richard Childress Racing Camaro.

Briscoe went up the embankment and left the 23XI Racing Camry of Riley Herbst with nowhere to go and ploughed into the spinning car. Larson’s teammate Alex Bowman also spun in sympathy entering Turn 3.

That set up a green-white-chequered finish. Hocevar led the high line with Blaney inside him. Wallace was third, Reddick fourth, van Gisbergen fifth, and Bell sixth.

Blaney got the lead out of Turn 2 but a big push by Reddick gave Hocevar the lead entering Turn 3.

Hocevar took the white flag in the lead, but a massive push by Wallace shot Blaney to Hocevar’s outside entering Turn 1 on the final lap.

Wallace got a run out of Turn 2 and made it three-wide with Hocevar and Blaney, but a Bell push out of Turn 4 ultimately paid dividends for Blaney to take the win and a race-high 171 laps led.

Results: NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400, Atlanta Motor Speedway