SVG comes up short in stunning recovery at The Glen

Van Gisbergen was leading when he made his final pit stop with 16 laps to go but was pinged and returned to the pits a lap later.

He had initially come out 20 seconds behind the #88 of Connor Zilisch in eighth but wound up nearly 50 seconds adrift after completing the drive-through.

In an incredible sequence of events, van Gisbergen rose through the field to find himself fourth on the final restart before all hell broke loose. Ultimately, the Kiwi crossed the line in sixth in a race won by Zilisch on debut.

Van Gisbergen qualified 14th but dropped to the rear for unapproved changes to the #97 Chevrolet Camaro.

The Kiwi made immediate headway and by the time he pitted at the end of Stage 1 had made up more than 20 places.

Van Gisbergen ended Stage 1 in 36th with a late pit stop. He restarted seventh and at the end of Stage 2 pitted to drop to the back of the field.

The Kiwi restarted 10th and moved up to seventh before the caution flew when the #9 of Justin Allgaier got beached in the gravel trap a the penultimate turn.

There were bizarre scenes when the top three drivers Ty Gibbs (#19), Sam Mayer (#1), and Zilisch (#88) all short-cut the bus stop chicane. They were dropped to the rear of the field as a result by NASCAR officials.

TY GIBBS, SAM MAYER AND CONNOR ZILISCH ALL GET PENALIZED!

They all went through the bus stop, something you can’t do under green OR under yellow. 😳 pic.twitter.com/RelmbvNjLt

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 14, 2024

That gave Cole Custer in the #00 the top spot with #17 driver William Byron alongside and van Gisbergen third.

When Custer got loose on entry to the final turn with 31 laps to go, Byron got to the lead. A lap later, van Gisbergen was by Custer with a pass into Turn 1.

Van Gisbergen inherited the lead when Byron completed his final pit stop. The #97 ran long and with 16 laps to go pitted for fuel and tyres.

He returned to the road in eighth but dropped further down the field after a drive-through penalty.

With six laps remaining, the caution flew again when Matt DiBenedetto parked his #38 Ford Mustang in bus stop chute. By that time, van Gisbergen had made something of a recovery to 16th and that became 14th after two cars pitted under yellow.

Despite the earlier penalty, Zilisch rose through the field to the lead on sheer pace. There were question marks over his fuel position, forcing him to back off once he got to the point.

He led Gibbs to the the green flag with AJ Allmendinger (#16) and Brandon Jones (#9) on the second row.

There was unbridled chaos on the restart as a bunch of cars went spinning in Turn 1, including Byron and several more. Austin Hill (#21) and Josh Williams (11) were among the victims who piled into stranded cars as well as Anthony Alfredo (#5).

The big benefactor was van Gisbergen who avoided all the carnage and rose from 14th to ninth.

BIG, BIG TROUBLE.

📺 : USA Network | Xfinity Series pic.twitter.com/HQegOkBWHP

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 14, 2024

The race was red-flagged as a result to clean up the mess and after a lengthy red flag van Gisbergen restarted in eighth.

As Gibbs ran out of fuel on the restart, van Gisbergen moved up to seventh and by the bus stop chicane he was fourth.

Jones got sent into a spin and then got hit by the #87 of Mike Skeen. With Gibbs’ car parked out of Turn 1, the caution came out again.

In a double-overtime finish, van Gisbergen restarted fourth. The leading group all ran wide through Turn 1 and began to rub panels.

Van Gisbergen bounced off the doors of Allmendinger and Mayer as they approached Turn 2, allowing Zilisch to skip away. Zilkisch stretched his legs and left van Gisbergen to battle with Allmendinger.

A wild sequence of events to end the #Mission200.

All drivers involved in these incidents were evaluated and released from the infield care center. pic.twitter.com/tjzxXl00we

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) September 14, 2024

Out of the bus stop, Smith got into the back of van Gisbergen and nearly spun the #97 who just hung onto his car.

Van Gisbergen got boxed out in the final corner and Sheldon Creed (#18) shot to second. The Kaulig Racing teammates continued to war over third and van Gisbergen quickly found himself fighting to hang on.

Fortunately, he avoided the race-ending caution when Riley Hebrst (#98) got sent into a spin on the back straight.

The race was quickly neutralised and Zilisch cruised back to the start-finish line to take the chequered flag and victory on his debut.

Creed was second and Smith third while Parker Kliggerman wound up fourth. Allmendinger was fifth and van Gisbergen sixth.

Results: NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission 200 at The Glen