Shane Van Gisbergen Oddly Satisfied After a Frustrating End to His Day at Vegas

Race 3 of the NASCAR Xfinity Series did not pan out like the three-time Supercars champion, Shane van Gisbergen, wanted it to. Following a third-place finish at Atlanta last week, the #97 Chevy driver was determined to showcase a better performance. Unfortunately, he will now have to wait till next week to get another shot.

The Kiwi racer on Saturday had his first DNF of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career, thus ending his day earlier than expected. Despite the setback, the 34-year-old seemed oddly content with his 37th-place finish, one place above the bottom sitter, Sam Mayer, who had to go out early, courtesy of a tangle on Lap 8.

Shane van Gisbergen suffers his first DNF in NXS at Vegas

Moving halfway across the world to America, Shane van Gisbergen, aka SVG, in 2024, switched his bases to try his luck in North America’s largest motorsports promotion. Following his Cup Series debut last year, the driver’s popularity shot up in the United States after he dominated the field to win the organization’s inaugural street course in Chicago.

Last month, the 3-time Bathurst 1000 winner, Shane, made his Daytona debut under the Kaulig Racing banner in partnership with Trackhouse Racing. The Aussie champion who first tasted the 2.5-mile speedway’s thrill did not get overwhelmed and finished a commendable 12th place finish. He bettered his result in his second outing at Atlanta, earning a decent third place after a long battle with the Xfinity Series regulars.

However, neither could the 34-year-old emulate his previous performance nor unlock the same speed at the intermediate track in Las Vegas. Despite the disappointing fallout, owing to an engine failure, SVG seemed optimistic. He was content with his performance and focused his energy on the positive side. Relaying his thoughts to Frontstretch’s Michael Massie, he said, “There was stuff going everywhere. I was driving well within myself, just trying to get comfortable, get a rhythm, and learn how it all works. So, man, I just need to be out there doing more laps. So that’s a shame, but there’s another race next week.” 

SVG’s disappointing finish at Vegas

Despite riding to Vegas on Atlanta’s momentum, van Gisbergen’s #97 Kaulig Racing Camaro could only finish 25 of the 200 laps at Vegas. Starting the race from the back of the grid at P34, he fell two spots in the opening lap and settled into 28th in the early stages, but was able to rise to 24th during the early caution period. However, by lap 29 he had fallen back to 29th. But was it all SVG’s fault? If we get deep into what actually happened, it turns out it was his vehicle that made things harder. 

Gisbergen had alerted his #97 team over the radio about rising oil temperatures, prompting them to call the Camaro to pit road and push it into the garage.  When asked what happened, he said in a post-race interview, “We dropped a cylinder. So it’s a shame just starting to get rolling and feel what it was like. Yeah, shame we didn’t get the focus health Chevy further up. We were doing pretty good and getting comfortable. So, I just needed to be out there learning and logging laps.” 

READ MORE: SVG Unaffected by the Extremely Demanding Aspect of NASCAR Contrasting to His Past Endeavors

Shane van Gisbergen might have had a frustrating moment there. But then again, this is just the start. And as NASCAR’s history emphasizes, the dynamics of it never fail to amaze.