Double Trouble for SVG as Iowa Debut Turns Bitterly Awry

It appears the third time did not hold any charm for Shane van Gisbergen at the Xfinity Series’ return to Iowa Speedway. After two consecutive weekends of road course triumphs at Portland and Sonoma, the 3x Supercars champ crashed around Lap 88 of the Hy-Vee Perks 250.

SVG’s #97 Kaulig Racing Chevy came loose off Turn 2 on the repaved asphalt and slammed into Blaine Perkins’ #29 Ford, which slammed into the outside wall.

On the way down, the out-of-control #97 then made contact with Kyle Weatherman’s #91 DGM Racing Camaro, turning SVG into the wall one last time for his first DNF of the 2024 season.

Although Weatherman emerged visibly unharmed from the Stage 2 incident, the #91 wound up in the wrecker after running one more lap, ending its day in P33. Consequently, the fallout also damaged Perkins’ vehicle, forcing its retirement alongside Kaulig Racing’s backup #97 on a DNF in 35th place. SVG, on the other hand, landed up in between Weatherman and Perkins at 34th.

Turn 2 was the same spot where the Kiwi sensation crashed during practice to bring out his backup car for the race on Saturday. For those who weren’t aware, an earlier practice crash sent SVG’s Chevy to the back of the pack for the start of the race, despite qualifying in P2 alongside Austin Hill via the metric, due to incessant rains during qualifying.

This has indeed been a bad day for Kaulig Racing, who saw their other road course ringer, AJ Allmendinger, crash out from tire issues around Lap 33 in Stage 1. The other two Kaulig drivers, Daniel Dye and Josh Williams have been running some of the fastest laps at the repaved Iowa.

SVG takes the blame for the crash despite gutsy Iowa showing

Nevertheless, SvG emerged unharmed from the infield care center. While speaking to the media after his disappointment on an oval course after back-to-back road course triumphs, the 35-year-old Auckland native embodied nothing but grace. “I just sort of got a little bit loose and kind of saved it. But then as I was spinning, just tried to stay in the middle and got collected. So, my fault. Pretty gutted and gutted for the guys who got involved too,” said SvG, when questioned by SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. 

He elaborated, “It’s pretty hard to be happy after wrecking two cars. So I am pretty gutted for the Kaulig Racing guys there. We had speed yesterday… But its a shame.”

Eager to shed off the “ringer” label and gunning for full-time NASCAR glory, the Supercars star concludes with a resolute promise: “Road courses I am always gonna be competitive. It’s these ovals where I’m learning and getting better.”

While the favorite suffered an ill fate, the stars aligned for a different driver amidst the chaotic Hy-Vee Perks 250.

Sam Mayer grabs second win as DNFs plague blistering Iowa race

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As for the race, JR Motorsports, Sam Mayer took the #1 Roto-Rooter Chevy Camaro to victory lane for the second time this season climbing the points table by 2 places at 10th. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst battled him tooth and nail to the chequer, finishing second. Toyota Racing Development prodigy, Corey Heim rounded off the podium at Iowa for what would be his first-ever time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Following the official results release, Daniel Dye placed P10 as the highest-finishing Kaulig Racing driver at the Hy-Vee 250. Their #11 driver, Josh Williams managed a decent 20th-place finish after a DNF last weekend at Sonoma in his 100th Xfinity Series start.

According to NASCAR stat guru, Trey Ryan, “There were 12 DNFs at Iowa in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race,” the highest out of any race in the 2024 season. 6 of the 9 cautions were called, courtesy of mysterious tire issues on a brand-new “partial repave” of Iowa’s 7/8 mile surface. Regardless, the excitements rev off next weekend for the SciAps 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.