Three times he was involved in accidents, including one he caused when he appeared to slide high and whack the left-rear corner of Jeb Burton’s #27 Chevrolet, causing it to spin.
Van Gisbergen himself was spun out seconds later in what appeared to be an extension of the incident, then was caught up in a later crash.
Again, he dropped a lap while Kaulig Racing patched up his #97 Chevrolet but, again, he got it back with a free pass and then climbed from 20th to 12th in a typically messy sprint to the chequered flag.
“It was wild,” he told Frontstretch.
“I certainly had a lot more fun than the ARCA race; I could trust people a lot more and the way I settled into the race was really good.
“My team was awesome, sticking with me.
“I’m pretty pissed and disappointed with myself, misjudging the 27 [Burton] and I spun him out and hurt him.
“I just misjudged the side draft. He was coming around me quick and as I went to get up, it sort of hung him back a bit and I just misjudged, so I’m pretty pissed at myself for that.
“The WeatherTech Chevy’s pretty beat-up, but the guys did a great job all night.
“We went down a lap, back, down a lap, back, so, all in all, I learned a lot, but I’m pretty bummed for spinning someone else out.”
Van Gisbergen’s next race comes this Saturday (local time) at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where the New Zealander will cut his first laps in a competitive session.
“Atlanta’s going to be tough,” he added.
“The first lap I ever see the joint is qualifying so it’s going to be tough with no practice but it is what it is.
“I just have to prep as much as I can on the simulator and adapt and see how we go in the race.”
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