With NASCAR celebrating its 75th anniversary, van Gisbergen stunned the motorsport world by winning the rain-delayed first street race in Cup series history.
A late caution for a two-car crash sent the race into a two-lap overtime but van Gisbergen, who had grabbed the lead on the previous restart, had little trouble holding off Justin Haley by 1.259 seconds to claim the win.
The Kiwi did a traditional burnout on the main straight in his Trackhouse Racing #91 Chevrolet to the roar of the crowd as the sun set in downtown Chicago.
Asked if he thought a victory was even possible in his first series start, van Gisbergen said: “No, of course not, but you always dream of it. What an experience in the crowd out here.
“This was so cool. This is what you dream of. Hopefully, I can come and do more.”
Van Gisbergen said when he fell back to 18th after his final pitstop he was worried about his ability to return to the front.
“The racing was really good, everyone was respectful. It was tough but a lot of fun. The fans in Australia and New Zealand, the response this week and the coverage has been – I can’t explain it.
“Like the response and the support I’ve got from everyone and even over here how welcoming everyone is, I can’t believe it. Dream come true.”
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, Enhance Health Chevrolet Camaro celebrates his victory
Photo by: Lesley Ann Miller / Motorsport Images
The three-time Australian Supercars champion looked to be a contender all weekend. He was fastest in Saturday’s practice and came up just short in qualifying for the pole and started third.
Once NASCAR declared it was shortening the original 100-lap race to 75 laps due to darkness, after the start was delayed by more than an hour-and-a-half due to torrential rain, van Gisbergen was one of the last to pit and had fresher tyres.
With van Gisbergen chasing down the leaders, Martin Truex Jr. crashed at Turn 1 to place the race under caution and set up a late restart.
Van Gisbergen jumped on Haley on the restart with five laps to go and swept around him in Turn 2 to move into the race lead.
But the drama continued when Bubba Wallace clashed with Ricky Stenhouse Jr and both slammed into the Turn 1 barriers to bring out a caution and send the race into a two-lap overtime, but van Gisbergen held his nerve to complete a historic victory.
Van Gisbergen’s ride this weekend was courtesy of Trackhouse’s Project 91, which provides rides to international motorsport stars, so they can gain an entry into the Cup series.
Chase Elliott – who started the race in a back-up car from the rear of the field – finished third, Kyle Larson was fourth and Kyle Busch overcame an early wreck to claim fifth.
Austin Cindric took sixth place ahead of Michael McDowell and Joey Logano, as Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.
NASCAR Cup Chicago – Race results