CHICAGO – In his first career NASCAR Cup Series start, Shane van Gisbergen won his first victory in his NASCAR Cup Series debut at the rain-delayed, darkness-shortened, slip-slidin’ Grant Park 220 on the Chicago Street Race Course.
Shane van Gisbergen became the first driver in 60 years to win in his Cup Series debut.
The New Zealander and three-time Supercars champion beat second-place Justin Haley by 1.259 seconds followed by Chase Elliott.
The last time a Cup Series driver won in his first career start was Johnny Rutherford at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in 1963.
van Gisbergen was the 12th different winner in the 18 NASCAR Cup Series races run this season.
The race was chaotic at times with several cars crashing into tire barriers, especially at Turn No. 6 at the corner of Columbus Ave and Balbo Ave. It was a rough start with the first caution coming at lap No. 2.
Originally scheduled for 100 laps, the drivers only ran 75 after NASCAR opted to cut things short due to impending darkness. Sunset was at 8:29 p.m.
The race began at 5:37 p.m., delayed from the original 4 p.m. Sunday start time after hours of delays due to local flash flood warnings, which forced officials to call the weekend’s Xfinity Series race before its completion.
NASCAR’s decision to push back the Cup Series race from its planned 4:05 p.m. start time came minutes after the National Weather Service sent another emergency alert regarding the “life-threatening” flash flood warning.
There were nine caution periods for a total of 21 laps. All but three of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
Cole Custer won the earlier race, The Loop 121, by leading with 25 of 55 completed when a red flag was dropped Saturday due to lightning. NASCAR announced Sunday that those results were considered final.
The related outdoor concerts set for Sunday, including Charley Crockett and Miranda Lambert, were also canceled.
Martin Truex Jr. remains the championship leader after Chicago with a nine-point advantage over second-place William Byron.
Race Winner: Shane van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
SHR Race Finish:
- Aric Almirola (Started 24th, Finished 12th / Running, completed 78 of 78 laps)
- Ryan Preece (Started 28th, Finished 15th / Running, completed 78 of 78 laps)
- Chase Briscoe (Started 16th, Finished 20th / Running, completed 78 of 78 laps)
- Kevin Harvick (Started 35th, Finished 29th / Running, completed 78 of 78 laps)
SHR Points:
- Kevin Harvick (7th with 523 points, 68 out of first)
- Ryan Preece (25th with 312 points, 279 out of first)
- Aric Almirola (27th with 297 points, 294 out of first)
- Chase Briscoe (31st with 207 points, 384 out of first)
This was Preece’s sixth straight finish of 17th or better.
Aric Almirola earned his best result since finishing sixth on April 16 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
“What an awesome event. It’s almost dark out and the city’s lit up. Amazing event,” said Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang “My hat is off to NASCAR, the city of Chicago, and everybody who thought about putting on this event. What an amazing event. I’m glad to have a good run, too – the start of the turnaround of our season, hopefully. It was pretty dicey there in the wet. I’m not going to lie. I was tip-toeing around just trying to not crash, trying to survive, and I’m so glad that it finally dried out and we got slicks on and got those rain tires off. I was way more competitive in those conditions. Just super proud of Drew (Blickensderfer, crew chief) and everybody on this Smithfield Ford Mustang team. We’re grinding. We’re fighting and, hopefully, this is the turn we need to go get us a win here in the next few races.”
Chase Briscoe finished 10th in Stage 2 to earn a bonus point.
“Truthfully, for a street course, I think it raced better than I thought it would,” said Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang. “There are definitely parts that can be improved, like widening the track, but all things considered, it surprised me compared to what I thought it was going to be. I thought there were a ton of fans here, and I thought the event was cool. I would’ve loved for the weather to cooperate so we could’ve seen what this event could’ve really turned into because there were still so many people out there of how bad the weather was. Hopefully, we can do it again, do a couple of things better, and put on an even better race.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Atlanta 400 on Sunday, July 9 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The race begins at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
