From Lap 1 until his eventual Stage 1 victory at the Loop 110 Xfinity race, Shane van Gisbergen battled neck-to-neck with Kyle Larson on the streets of Chicago. Though Ty Gibbs trailed close behind, sniffing precious opportunity, the duo left him disappointed as NASCAR made history for only the second time in the Second City. As longtime NASCAR journalist Toby Christie rightfully put it in an X post, “One of the best road racers in the world against arguably the most talented overall racer in the world. Kyle Larson and SVG are going toe-to-toe in the opening Stage of this #NASCAR Xfinity race. This is incredible!“

Indeed, it was incredible. Even AJ Allmendinger, one of the best road course racers in the Xfinity Series, failed to keep up with their ‘street fight’ and crashed into the tire barriers on Turn 6 during the second stage. And it appeared that Larson & SVG were blatantly aware of each other’s threat, although not without each garnering the other’s respect.

A rivalry made on the road paved with respect between SVG and Larson

Late in Stage 1, Larson and SVG fought hard for the lead. Both drivers didn’t seem to be willing to give up. But in the end, SVG prevailed on the corners, especially Turn 5 where Larson was facing difficulties overtaking SVG, as per Stephen Stumpf of Frontstretch. In an X post, Stumpf duly updated fans that Larson was heard over the radio saying: “I can’t get through turn 5 as good as [SVG] … I can’t accelerate.” 

As incident after incident piled up behind the duo, they traded the lead one last time on Turn 3 before the end of the first stage cycle. And just as one would expect, it did not come easy for van Gisbergen. However, as the Kaulig #97 crossed the line ahead of the Hendrick #17, securing the coveted playoff points, SVG acknowledged Larson’s commendable defense with a playful and full-of-respect thumbs up.

Even Steve Letarte noticed it in the NBC booth as Kyle Larson finished right behind SVG when stage 1 ended with Ty Gibbs, Connor Mosack & Cole Custer rounding off the Top 5. After Stage 2 concluded, both drivers finished next to each other in 10th & 11th. But not too long after, they fought back to the front of the pack.

A fitting end to a thrilling Chicago ‘street fight’

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Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love certainly looked like a strong contender leading a race-high 14 laps in the final stage. But then #2 fell victim to the various incidents and restarts, losing the lead around Lap 47 to SVG with Ty Gibbs, and a resurgent Kyle Larson.

The official race duration was recorded as 1 hour, 29 minutes, and 448 seconds. And once it ended, Shane van Gisbergen went from pole to P1 and notched his third road course victory in just as many road course races in the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series. Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson, Parker Kligerman, and Jesse Love rounded out the top 5.

In his post-race interview on pit lane, Kyle Larson was barely disheartened as he told Kim Coon of NBC, “He (SVG) was obviously way faster… I think he was having fun just playing with me… I wanted to take the first opportunity I got to battle him. You know, we were gonna give each other space because early on but you just never know when the race plays out. If I am gonna have a chance to battle him and learn racecraft stuff, so that was big on my agenda…”

Admitting his learning opportunity, Larson detailed his admiration for SVG’s road course skills, stating, “He could just exit like Turn 5 just way smoother than me. I just was bouncing so aggressively. I couldn’t accelerate. And then same through like Turn 9, I just couldn’t carry the speed that he could. If I carry just a little bit too much which was never even close to how much speed he was turning or pulling through there. I would just shear and get loose.”

For tomorrow’s race, the duo will battle again with the Cup race pole winner, Larson, leading the field as SVG aims for a repeat of his previous glory. Moving back to his #5 seat, with a lot more experience, will Yung Money redeem himself in the main event set to go green on the streets of Chicago at 4:30 PM ET?