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The Kiwi had qualified 19th for the half-mile oval race, but started up in 13th thanks to a number of other cars being sent to the back of the grid.
He then battled his way through the three action-packed stages, a car issue early in the final stage costing him ground before finding himself in the hunt for a top 10 during a wild overtime finish.
That was prompted by a late crash triggered when Brandon Jones missed a shift, with more than a dozen cars – including van Gisbergen’s teammate AJ Allmendinger, caught up in the melee.
Van Gisbergen hung on in overtime to come home a solid 12th place – and hugely impressed with his first Martinsville experience.
“It was a fun day,” he said. “Some of the most fun racing I’ve ever had, I’m really enjoying it.
“Learning again, I got better and better in every stage. At the start of Stage 3 we had a little car issue and I put myself in bad spots and dropped back. But once I learnt how to drive around it we drove back through and got near the top 10.
“At the end it was crazy. But I had a ball, really fun day with everyone.”
Aric Almirola won the race.
