Racing the #97 for the first time in the Cup Series, the Trackhouse Racing driver survived a chaotic first 100 laps before rain flipped the race on its head.

Van Gisbergen surged forward from 15th to the front of the field with 60 laps to go as he mastered the conditions and his rivals faltered.

However, inside the final quarter of the 200-lap race, van Gisbergen was tipped into a spin by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe in the #19 Toyota Camry.

“That’s a shame,” van Gisbergen radioed to his crew.

“It was going well.”

As laps under caution do not count towards the race distance, van Gisbergen stayed on the lead lap. He restarted 18th with 35 laps to go and wound up finishing 20th.

The race was won by Ryan Preece in the #60 RFK Racing Ford Mustang, who dominated the final quarter of the race after passing van Gisbergen on Lap 156 of 200.

“I don’t even know what to say. To be honest with you, it’s been a fucking long road,” said Preece.

“It’s been years and years of grinding. Two years ago I didn’t think I was going to have a job. I thought I was going back to Connecticut. I’m just super, super emotional.”

From pole position, Kyle Larson led Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron into the first turn with Briscoe the first of the Toyotas.

Having started from 17th, van Gisbergen was shuffled to 23rd and last on Lap 38 after being pushed up the road by William Byron in the #48 Hendrick Camaro.

“Just full of marbles and he pushed me up there sorry,” van Gisbergen bemoaned to his team over the radio.

“It’s okay, I just can’t do anything.”

The first half of the race was led initially by Kyle Larson, though he befell tyre trouble and soon slipped back towards the tail of the top 10.

Van Gisbergen, mired in the mid-pack, got into the back of Austin Cindric in the #2 Team Penske Ford Mustang and spun him coming out of Turn 4 on Lap 77.

“It’s actually all right,” van Gisbergen said of his car. But people just keep running into me and I got sick of it.”

The Kiwi also made mention of his former Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez in the #7 Spire Motorsports Camaro who was putting his front bumper to good use.

“It’s the third time the #7 got me for nothing,” said SVG.

“I guess he’s excited he’s not my teammate and he can hit me now.”

On Lap 78, Byron led Briscoe to the green with Ty Gibbs (#54 Joe Gibbs Toyota) third and Carson Hocevar (#77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet) the quiet achiever in fourth.

On Lap 85, Briscoe got the lead and Gibbs followed suit. Just 10 laps later, the momentum swung again as Gibbs got by Briscoe for a lead change.

At the 100-lap break, Gibbs led Briscoe, Byron, Blaney, and Hocevar while van Gisbergen was 15th.

There was plenty said over the radio about the antics at the back of the pack, particularly involving van Gisbergen’s former Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez.

“Tell the #97 I’m coming for him,” said Suarez.

During the break, rain began falling, forcing the field off the track to fit wet weather tyres.

On the outside, Briscoe got by Gibbs. However, it wasn’t long before the first of what seemed like a countless string of cautions came out.

Denny Hamlin in the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota got loose thanks to a nudge from Connor Zilisch in the #88 Trackhouse Chevrolet. Hamlin spun, and took Laron and Preece with him.

In the wet, van Gisbergen made immediate headway by going around the outside. Others were quick to follow suit and van Gisbergen’s charge stalled once he got up to eighth.

After a flurry of cautions, a key moment in the race came when Gibbs got tipped into a spin off the nose of Chase Elliott’s #9 Hendrick Chevrolet.

Suarez and van Gisbergen slipped through while several around them had to slow suddenly. In a split second, SVG shot from eighth to fourth.

While all that was happening, Hocevar had made his way to the lead with Briscoe in hot pursuit.

Another series of cautions and the choose rule eventually put van Gisbergen on the inside of the front row alongside Hocevar.

On Lap 140, van Gisbergen led. He survived several more restarts until the track began to dry and his wet weather advantage began to fade.

The decisive moment of the race came inside the final quarter. On Lap 153, van Gisbergen lined up alongside Preece for the restart.

He initially cleared Preece, but on Lap 156 the #60 Mustang slipped up the inside of the #97 Camaro.

Attack turned to defence and soon SVG had Briscoe for company. On Lap 165, the #19 got through and so too the #7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet of Suarez.

Moments later, the caution flew. From the outside of row two, van Gisbergen cleared Suarez and almost had Briscoe entering Turn 3. However, the Briscoe got in too deep and drove into the right rear corner of van Gisbergen, spinning him.

That put paid to van Gisbergen’s hopes. Though there was little in the way of damage to his car, there was not enough time to mount a comeback and he settled for 20th.

Adding insult to injury for Trackhouse Racing, van Gisbergen’s teammate Connor Zilisch clipped the #97 and tipped the #88 into a spin.

At the front of the field, Preece survived several more cautions and a drying track to secure his first NASCAR Cup Series win.

Results: NASCAR Cup Series Cook-Out Clash, Bowman Gray Stadium

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