The 2024 season is shaping up to be a promising one for Shane van Gisbergen and the Spire-Trackhouse collaboration after last year’s Chicago Road Course dominance. Unfortunately, the much-anticipated 2024 NASCAR campaign for the Kiwi star is off to a dismal start after a massive wreck in the ARCA Menards Series opener put Shane van Gisbergen out of contention.

Just when we thought that the 2024 Daytona Speedweek couldn’t get any more interesting with the constant curve balls it was throwing at drivers, disaster unfolded only 4 laps into the Daytona ARCA 200, bringing out the first caution of the night.

“It Sucked’ – Shane van Gisbergen’s ARCA Daytona 200 debut ends in heartbreak after the massive wreck

The 2024 season was off to a poor start for Shane van Gisbergen, who was aiming to gain vital superspeedway experience before his Xfinity Series debut. SVG failed to make it to the race on speed and was out of the 40-car field before a late withdrawal handed the Pinnacle Racing Group car an entry into the ARCA Daytona 200. While the three-time Australian Supercars champion was hoping to improve on that performance in the race, his stint would abruptly come to an end with only 4 laps clocked out of the 100.

Running close behind the pack during the initial stages, van Gisbergen found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time. Gus Dean up ahead was battling it out with the frontrunners when a shove from the rear turned him into Venturini Motorsports teammate Toni Breidinger as they headed through turns 1 and 2. This caused a major pileup, collecting Shane van Gisbergen in the process.

Jonathan Fjeld took to X and shared, “Crash, lap 4. It looked like Gus Dean came down into Toni Breidinger and set that wreck off. Nowhere for her to go. Shane van Gisbergen, Amber Balcaen, Mandy Chick, Tanner Gray, Ed Pompa, and Kris Wright were among the drivers involved. SVG is done.”

After his unfortunate exit, the Kiwi aiming to build on his iconic stock car debut last year was seemingly distraught. He shared with motorsport.com, “I didn’t last long in that race. It sucked. We were just learning, getting through a few (laps). Just trying to be patient and I saw a crash up ahead and I slowed up pretty good I thought but just got slammed from behind. That sucked. It was a shame. Hopefully, we can do better in the Xfinity race.”

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While the Pinnacle Racing Group garage was able to mend Gisbergen’s #28 Chevy, he would only finish in 29th after a 25-lap drought. It’s safe to say the wreck triggered by Gus Dean’s altercation with teammate Toni Breidinger ended SVG’s Daytona debut in heartbreak, but that certainly wasn’t the case for the Venturini Motorsports man himself.

After a whirlwind of events, Gus Dean wins the ARCA Daytona 200

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While Toni Breidinger made her grievances with her teammate well-known after the race, the ARCA series opener could not have gone better for Gus Dean. At the end of a race filled with carnage, Gus Dean was right behind his other teammate Jake Finch on a one-lap overtime restart. Behind them was Andy Jankowiak, who had told the Fox Sports 1 booth that he would not lift until he saw “God or the checkered flag.”

But sticking to that notion proved costly for Jankowiak, as he pushed Finch aggressively while trying to slot into second, triggering a massive wreck behind them. Andres Perez, who was following close behind in fourth was flipped and landed on Jankowiak’s car, causing havoc with only 1 lap to go. But while the carnage unfolded behind him, even collecting SVG, Gus Dean drove away to a smooth victory.

With such an action-packed race, things could have ended in millions of ways. But for Gus Dean, racing in memory of his grandfather could not have had a better ending. Reflecting on their relationship, Dean shared, “I started racing when I was four years old at a tiny little dirt track in South Georgia. It’s been a whole lot of miles, a whole lot of work, and a whole lot of people behind me.”

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Gus Dean shared how much of a support his grandfather had been throughout his career, visiting every single race and encouraging the Venturini Motorsports star to do his very best. And with the result of the ARCA Daytona 200, it’s safe to say Dean did just that. He concluded, “Tonight, we got what we could and it might not be the 500, it might not be the biggest race, but it is the biggest coliseum. And for a small-town kid from Bluffton, South Carolina, this is everything.”