{"id":103349,"date":"2023-07-05T17:16:28","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T22:16:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=103349"},"modified":"2023-07-05T17:16:28","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T22:16:28","slug":"new-zealands-shane-van-gisbergen-says-phone-call-led-to-one-off-nascar-race-sprint-cup-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/new-zealands-shane-van-gisbergen-says-phone-call-led-to-one-off-nascar-race-sprint-cup-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand\u2019s Shane van Gisbergen says phone call led to one-off NASCAR race, Sprint Cup victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Zain Bando
\n<\/b>Medill Reports<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Shane van Gisbergen held back tears after conquering Chicago\u2019s first-ever NASCAR street race in Grant Park Sunday. The Grant Park 220 overtime victory made van Gisbergen the first driver since Johnny Rutherford in 1963 and the seventh all-time to win a Sprint Cup Series race in his NASCAR debut.<\/span><\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen will forever be known as a ringer. He said he jumped at the opportunity to compete in the U.S., even if it meant getting out of his comfort zone as a traditional Australian Supercars driver.<\/span><\/p>\n

As part of the Trackhouse team, van Gisbergen paired up with owner Justin Marks\u2019 Project 91, which gives non-full-time drivers exposure and showcases the best international talent to ride stock cars in the sport\u2019s biggest races. The collaboration dates back a year <\/span>when NASCAR announced it was coming to Chicago.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something I guess you dream about,\u201d van Gisbergen said. \u201cAs Justin was saying when he first approached me about it, he said it could happen and I\u2019m on the shortlist. When he gave me that call, it was pretty special.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen sat beside his inaugural Grant Park 220 trophy, beaming proudly at a career milestone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s obviously pretty high,\u201d van Gisbergen said. \u201cSupercars is my dream, and winning that championship and races like that over there. That\u2019s still top of the list, but to come and do this, I don\u2019t know where it ranks yet. It\u2019s still sinking in, but it\u2019s obviously one of the most special victories I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen, 34, is a three-time Australian Supercars champion. His U.S. return was almost derailed Sunday when he and 36 other drivers nearly didn\u2019t race due to inclement weather in Chicago. Heavy rain delayed the event until 5:35 p.m.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before competing in Chicago, van Gisbergen had limited experience in high-profile American racing, most notably in 2015\u2019s 24 Hours of Daytona, where he finished second.<\/span><\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen said adapting and relearning NASCAR\u2019s format was an adjustment. Regardless, he said he felt well-prepared as race time drew closer, even when it came to off-track obligations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI miss racing in the States,\u201d van Gisbergen said. \u201cI\u2019ve done Daytona four or five times now, and just the way the American people are and how they go racing, it\u2019s so much more enjoyable. Even doing the media stuff, which I hate, everyone here is really nice. They ask good questions and they\u2019re respectful. It goes both ways.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Justin Haley finished in second place and said van Gisbergen\u2019s performance was closer than people may give Haley credit for. The race came down to the last few laps as van Gisbergen overtook Haley just before approaching victory lane.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel like he pulled away from me,\u201d Haley said. \u201cI feel like I held my own on the green-white-checkered (flag) especially.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Haley added he was outsmarted late, but the outcome could have been much different if he had more street race experience similar to van Gisbergen\u2019s pedigree.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s his race to lose,\u201d Haley said. \u201cSo, like I said, as a driver, you don\u2019t want other forms of motorsport drivers to come in and beat you at your own game like Kyle (Busch) said, but unfortunately, he\u2019s just really good. This was my first street race, and I can\u2019t imagine how many he has raced. I have nothing bad to say.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For now, van Gisbergen said his main focus is competing in Supercar races back home. Despite that, he isn\u2019t ruling out a stateside return.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn \u201925, who knows?\u201d van Gisbergen said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Zain Bando is a sports media graduate student at Medill. You can follow him on<\/span><\/i> Twitter<\/span><\/i><\/a> (@zainbando99) and add him on LinkedIn <\/span><\/i>here<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Zain Bando Medill Reports Shane van Gisbergen held back tears after conquering Chicago\u2019s first-ever NASCAR street race in Grant Park Sunday. The Grant Park 220 overtime victory made van Gisbergen the first driver since Johnny Rutherford in 1963 and the seventh all-time to win a Sprint Cup Series race in his NASCAR debut. Van […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":890,"featured_media":103350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5251,31,5390],"tags":[5395,5394,545,5396,5382],"class_list":["post-103349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago","category-sports","category-summer-2023","tag-nascar-chicago","tag-shane-van-gisbergen","tag-sports","tag-summer-2023","tag-zain-bando"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Zealand\u2019s Shane van Gisbergen says phone call led to one-off NASCAR race, Sprint Cup victory - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Find out how Shane van Gisbergen went from an unknown to a name that will live in NASCAR lore for years to come.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/new-zealands-shane-van-gisbergen-says-phone-call-led-to-one-off-nascar-race-sprint-cup-victory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Zealand\u2019s Shane van Gisbergen says phone call led to one-off NASCAR race, Sprint Cup victory - 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