Van Gisbergen charges to victory on NASCAR debut

SUPERCARS champion Shane van Gisbergen has delivered a remarkable performance to upstage NASCAR’s stars and snatch victory in his first ever Cup Series race.

Van Gisbergen was the star of the show in Chicago right from practice, which he topped.

Qualifying third and starting in tricky conditions, van Gisbergen was a contender before being strategically crippled by a call by officials to shorten the race from 100 laps to 75.

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That came after torrential rain delayed the race start, pushing the finish closer to sunset.

With a number of cars having gambled (successfully) on an early stop, van Gisbergen and the lead bunch lost out when they ducked to pit road for a final time on Lap 47.

He re-emerged way down in 18th, only to scythe his way through the field in stunning fashion.

By a late-race restart after Martin Truex Jr crashed, van Gisbergen was second and right on the tail of leader Justin Haley.

Van Gisbergen wasted little time as the race went back to green, completing a pass by Turn 4.

The Kiwi blazed clear – but there was another hurdle to come, as Bubba Wallace clattered into Ricky Stenhouse Jr at Turn 1 on the penultimate lap to trigger yet another caution and send the race into overtime.

That left van Gisbergen with a two-lap dash to the flag with a train of desperate drivers behind him, led by Haley and Chase Elliott trying to secure a playoffs berth.

FOLLOW UP: Van Gisbergen reacts to Chicago win

But he navigated the restart to see the white flag and then hang on for that final lap to etch his place in the record books, an achievement he celebrated with a trademark burnout.

It makes the 34-year-old the first driver in 60 years to win on Cup Series debut.

Haley finished second ahead of Elliott, Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch in an all-Chevrolet top five.

RESULTS: NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicago Street Course