SVG narrowly denied first NASCAR oval stage win

The Kiwi took the lead in Stage 1 following an early caution, which prompted a flurry of pit stops.

Having elected to take two tyres, van Gisbergen shot from the back of the top 10 to be fourth for the subsequent restart.

With a good getaway, van Gisbergen got to second and then usurped the race-leading #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry driven by Denny Hamlin, who elected not to pit and was on older tyres.

SVG controlled proceedings until the end of the stage – at which point he was beaten to the green-chequered by Ty Gibbs in the #54 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry.

A side-by-side end the first stage at @NWBSpeedway 🤯

Ty Gibbs in the lead entering stage two 👀 pic.twitter.com/EgdIJfikvX

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 20, 2026

After qualifying was rained out, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney inherited pole position. However, the #12 Mustang dropped to the back due to power steering issues, resulting in a penalty for unapproved changes.

Van Gisbergen started seventh and spent the opening laps side-by-side with Chase Elliott until the #9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro cleared him on Lap 9.

Van Gisbergen lost another spot to hard charger Joey Logano in the #22 Team Penske Mustang, who surged towards the top five in the opening stanza.

Gibbs led the race until Lap 40 when the caution came out. That was caused by the #42 Legacy Motor Club Camry of John Hunter Nemechek spinning thanks to contact with Zane Smith’s #38 Front Row Motorsports Mustang.

Hamlin elected not to pit under the yellow and inherited the lead of the race. Gibbs and Christopher Bell in the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry dropped to second and third respectively while van Gisbergen rose to fourth with a two-tyre change.

Chaos in pit road with a collision between Larson and Zilisch 😳 pic.twitter.com/97dTMb934n

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 20, 2026

During the pit stops, Kyle Larson and Connor Zilisch collided. That caused wheel damage to the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro and necessitated a second pit stops. Meanwhile, the #88 Trackhouse Racing Camaro suffered damage to the left front corner.

Hamlin led the restart on Lap 49. Van Gisbergen was quick away from the outside of row two to nab second place.

With the benefit of newer tyres, van Gisbergen cleared Hamlin for the lead on Lap 52 – prompting a hilarious response from the Kiwi.

“I’m leading, what the fuck do I do now?”

Van Gisbergen held the lead until the last lap of the stage when Gibbs got to the outside exiting the final turn and pipped the Trackhouse Camaro to the win.

Logano ran a close third while Hamlin held on with his first set of tyres to take fourth. Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, and William Byron completed the top 10.

During the pit stops, Stage 1 winner Gibbs was given a penalty for speeding on pit road and dropped to the rear of the field.