The Verizon 200 at the Brickyard was a bit of an oddity. A road track race that did not see any cautions beyond the one pulled out after Joey Jogano’s antics in Lap 2, yet it was one that saw cars getting spun constantly.
Another interesting aspect was the gamut of drivers belonging to diverse racing backgrounds who made a strong impression in the world of stock car racing. However, apart from the debutants, it was the 3x Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen who garnered the most attention, and why not? The Kiwi had swept the treacherous tracks of the street circuit in the Windy City by netting a victory in his debut appearance just over a month ago.
With the hopes of repeating the same feat, the New Zealander returned for a second time under the banner of Project 91 of Trackhouse Racing. However, the plans failed as the driver seemed to have entangled himself in one-too-many on-track incidents; most importantly, one involving an HMS driver.
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The Chicago race winner shows his displeasure with Hendrick Motorsports driver, but politely
Sunday’s race was surely a day for Trackhouse Racing if only certain hiccups had not hindered the execution by the drivers. The team’s rising star Daniel Suarez had clinched his first pole of the season and led a significant number of laps in Stage 1. After passing Chase Elliott for P2, Suarez made the pit stop along with the other top-4 drivers. An unfortunate tangle with the wheel gun hose saw his pit stop extend to 23 seconds, costing him a possible win.
On the other hand, Suarez’s teammate Shane van Gisbergen had surely captured the limelight on Sunday, given his performance at Chicago. However, the driver failed to capitalize on his favorable qualifiers early on and was eventually caught up in a wreck. This was the last thing perhaps the driver had expected. The incident occurred on Lap 10 when Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports made contact with the Kiwi and threw him off his position.
Owing to the fact, the No.91 Chevrolet driver expressed to Frontstretch media, “I guess everyone’s expectations are high because of Chicago but the top 10 is still awesome. Just had a ball with the Project 91 guys all week and the Enhanced Health coming on board coming like they are all excited.”
“The race was pretty tough, a lot more contact, pushing around and stuff. I got pushed out by Alex Bowman but I blocked him and then he pushed me straight away so, learned away pretty quickly not to block that early and it’s all a part of it,” SVG added, with disappointment easily detectable in his voice.
Having said that, the initiator of the contact, Alex Bowman, surely had a favorable day as he rounded off the top 5. However, it is the question of victory that seems to bug the mind of the driver. In order to continue his consecutive appearance in the playoffs, a victory is all that Boman wants, all that he needs.
Watch this Story: Trackhouse Boss Justin Marks Could Lose SVG To Bigger NASCAR Sharks
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Alex Bowman reveals the challenges that lie ahead of him
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With just two races left, the Hendrick Motorsports driver contemplated about the Achilles Heel that is keeping him from entering the playoffs. In an interview with NBC Bowman revealed, “Yeah, I will take a win any week, especially at road courses.”
“I think we will have a shot at it. I think here and at Watkins Glen are by far my weakest road courses, but you know Mr. Hendrick and everybody gives us all the tools that we need to excel in all these places. Obviously learned since the last time I was here and improved a lot, so hopefully we can do the same at Watkins Glen,” Bowman concluded.
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Given his apprehensions about road courses and in particular, Watkins-Glen, it will be interesting to see if Bowman is able to make a resurgence and get his mojo back. Even more eyes will be on his teammate, the runner up Chase Elliott.
Read More: Daniel Suarez Bites His Tongue Despite Trackhouse Owner Justin Marks Backtracking on His SVG Promise