Piloting the United Truck Parts Sprintcar, the three-time Supercars champion suffered a torrid night at the Tauranga venue.

Van Gisbergen got through his first heat race of the night, finishing 12th, before it all went pear shaped in the second heat.

Starting from third, the #97A driver fell back before suddenly stopping early in the race at the last turn.

After bringing out the yellow, van Gisbergen restarted the race at the rear of the field.

As he sought to make headway, the NASCAR star tangled with the #28M of Ayrton Hodgson at Turn 1 and rode over their right rear wheel. That sent van Gisbergen airborne and into a series of rolls.

Hodgson continued while Van Gisbergen walked away from the incident unscathed, but that marked the end of his night. Damage to the Sprintcar meant he missed the 20-lap feature, which was won by James Dahm who led home Jamie Larsen and Dean Cooper.

Despite the crash, van Gisbergen stayed into the night to sign autographs and meet fans.

Van Gisbergen is scheduled to return to Baypark on December 30.

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