SHANE van Gisbergen has again impressed the NASCAR fraternity by finishing third in just his second Xfinity Series race.
A week after a wild run to 12th place at Daytona that included becoming involved in several crashes, van Gisbergen adapted quickly to another high-speed venue at Atlanta.
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The three-time Supercars champion qualified 13th despite there being no prior practice sessions as part of the compressed schedule.
Van Gisbergen ran strongly throughout the 250-mile encounter and was placed eighth when the race went to a two-lap overtime finish.
He rose to third in a frantic dash to the chequered flag during which several rivals ahead ran out of fuel.
“It’s just awesome,” van Gisbergen told Sportsnaut’s Matt Weaver immediately after the race.
“I’m more stoked to just come up with a result, clean car, learn something every lap, learn to move around.
“I probably should have asked for an adjustment for that last stop. That’s part of learning, I didn’t know what the track was going to do, how things change when I got around people.
“It’s all about learning and to come away with a straight car and a good result is really cool.”
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Van Gisbergen acknowledged that a call to pit for fuel had set him up for the result.
“Knowing that we came in for fuel, I guess it’s impressive, I don’t think the #21 (winner Austin Hill) came in so how he made it was really good,” he added.
“Hopefully I can have his onboard and see what he was doing throughout the stint to make it. I thought I was saving fuel, but I guess it was the right call to pit.”
Van Gisbergen’s Xfinity Series campaign will continue next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
