The Kaulig Racing driver prevailed in the end but reliably lost positions whenever the contest went from yellow to green, and often had trouble under brakes at Turn 1.
He admitted he is still coming to terms with the gamesmanship which goes on in stock car racing, as well as the aggression of NASCAR drivers.
“I definitely didn’t have a plan [for his comeback] because I went backwards about five spots, every restart,” quipped van Gisbergen.
“Yeah, I was just figuring it out, the games of it all.
“You know, you’re coming to the line and it sounds like the guy puts in the clutch and revs it but he’s not actually going.
“Just all these games, I’m still learning and figuring it out.
“I stuffed my own one up when I was leading, but the rest of them, I’m just trying to learn and adapt.
“Going four-wide into Turn 1, it’s hard; I’m on the conservative side and these people, they don’t give a shit, they just send it in there and hope they come out the other side.”
Van Gisbergen also made his life harder when he sailed off the road at the Turn 10/Turn 11 complex on Lap 36 but, even then, he showed he had lost none of his celebrated ‘racing IQ’.
A ditch behind the backside of kerbing has been identified as a risk for those who strayed off-track, but the New Zealander managed to avoid it and prevent any further damage to his already dented Quad Lock Camaro.
“Unfortunately, the team learned the hard way; AJ [Allmendinger, team-mate] coming back on the track, taking out the splitter,” he explained.
“He learned that for me and as soon as I went off the track, it was straight away going through my head, ‘How do I get back on the track without damaging the car?’
“So, I was searching for a smooth line and probably could have got on the track a bit quicker but I just tried to look after the car.
“My mistake, I just went through there and got on the dirt off-line, and went off the track.”
The win has locked van Gisbergen into one of the 12 Playoffs berths even if he is only 14th on points, and was his first in NASCAR since the sensational stock car debut in the Chicago Cup Series race last July.
“It’s been an amazing journey, the last year, to move over here and having so much support from Justin Marks, [owner of] Trackhouse, and Kaulig as well,” he said.
“Then, of course my partner, who’s joined on this journey, and WeatherTech and then Quad Lock today – they’re an Australian brand that’s supported me for a few years and come here, I’ve had them on the car, they supported my throwback idea at Darlington which was awesome, and then to give them a win here at a road course…
“It’s been a pretty special nine, 10 months since we decided to do this.
“Yeah, pretty stoked; pretty stoked to now be in the Playoffs, back in Victory Lane again, it’s pretty special.
“The biggest thing every week, we’re not [usually] running up front but I’m having a lot of fun doing it anyway.”
Van Gisbergen has another red-hot chance for victory when NASCAR moves on to the Sonoma Raceway road course this coming weekend.
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