SHANE van Gisbergen and Brodie Kostecki have led the way among the international guests of NASCAR’s top-tier Indianapolis race.
Van Gisbergen started eighth and finished 10th, despite throttle issues, in his second Cup Series outing.
Kostecki had qualified 11th but started from the rear of the field due to crash damage; from there he worked his way forward to 22nd by the end of 82 mostly caution-free laps.
Kostecki was the last driver to finish on the lead lap, ahead of the likes of Mike Rockenfeller (24th), Jenson Button (28th) and Kamui Kobayashi (33rd). Michael McDowell won the race.
For van Gisbergen, it was a vigorous affair including separate instances of Turn 1 contact with Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs, the latter being spun.
SVG also was on the receiving end in an exchange with Alex Bowman.
“It was aggressive but it’s fair,” van Gisbergen said of the overall racing conduct.
“I put a block on the #48 (Bowman) and the next corner he just moved me so I guess I deserved that.
“The racing was fine, I really enjoyed it and all the battling, when you go for a move on someone they give you room and they expect it back, so really cool.”
It completes a big weekend for van Gisbergen, who also raced in the NASCAR Truck Series at Indianapolis Raceway Park (placing 19th).
His end-of-season departure from Supercars is expected to be announced this week, with Trackhouse Racing the favourites to land his services in 2024.
“It’s been an amazing week, I can’t thank Justin Marks and the Trackhouse team enough for giving me this opportunity,” said van Gisbergen.
“I learnt a lot in the truck on Friday night and then just to come here and race again.
“Although a top 10 is awesome, your expectations are high because of the last race (in Chicago where he won) so I just have to realise that top 10 is still pretty good.”
Kostecki and van Gisbergen will now turn their attention to Round 8 of the Repco Supercars Championship this coming weekend at Tailem Bend.
