SHANE van Gisbergen proved unbeatable in his NASCAR O’Reilly Series cameo at the Circuit of the Americas, breaking through for his first career win at the venue.
The three-time Supercars champion had to fight for the win, though, with multiple stunning moves paying dividends.
From the front row at the initial start, van Gisbergen dropped into second behind his JR Motorsports/Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch on the initial race start.
The duo held station until SVG charged into the lead ahead of flipping the stage, stopping early due to not running for stage points.
Despite stopping early, Gisbergen was classified 10th in the stage end, which translated to a 10th-place start for stage two.
However, he was swamped on the run to turn one by Zilisch, 17-year-old debutant Brent Crews and Sam Mayer.
As Zilisch slowed with brake problems, van Gisbergen forged into the top spot when Baltazar Leguizamon drilled the turn one wall, bringing out the yellows.
In the short run to the next green and white chequered flag, SVG advanced to fifth, pipped by Adelaide Super2 starter Jesse Love on the final straight.
Upon the restart, van Gisbergen made a daring three-wide pass for the lead stick.
A caution with 10 laps remaining saw the majority of the field pit, with SVG lining up from sixth for the restart.
Not mucking around, the Kiwi pounced into the lead at turn one when the leaders sprayed wide.
As chaos unfolded behind him, Austin Hill was classified in second.
Next up for van Gisbergen is the NASCAR Cup Series race, where he reverts back to his #97 SafetyCulture Chevrolet, which will line up from 13th for the 95-lap race.
The race is scheduled to start at 7:30am AEDT tomorrow.
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