IT may have been a happy hunting ground for Shane van Gisbergen coming into the weekend, but the NASCAR Cup Series’ first visit to Kansas Speedway for 2026 was one to forget for the Kiwi, who finished 36th.
Ultimately, the result has provisionally dropped the three-time Supercars Champion out of the Chase positions, with him now provisionally sitting 18th in the standings.
From the drop of the green flag, it was a tough day for the entire Trackhouse Racing equipe, with Ross Chastain 26th and Connor Zilisch 29th.
All told, a lack of cautions made it nearly impossible for lapped traffic to claw back lost ground.
After qualifying 17th, van Gisbergen landed in 21st following a hectic start.
The #97 Chevrolet pitted on lap 36 of 267, with drama unfolding when Ryan Blaney tangled with AJ Allmendinger in the pits.
Denny Hamlin won the opening stage, while SVG dropped a lap late in the run, meeting the green and white chequered flag in 25th.
From 27th at the restart, the handling on the Red Bull machine degraded, and SVG drifted back to 33rd before taking his third stop on lap 129.
By the second green and white chequered flag, which was taken by Kyle Larson, van Gisbergen languished in 32nd, two laps down.
Shortly after the start of the last stage, van Gisbergen reported a voltage issue in the car, but by switching off items such as his cool suit and fan, he was able to soldier on.
After his lap 220 stop, the brake pedal went to the floor, with SVG running the high line to mitigate a total failure.
In a relatively straightforward race, Tyler Reddick overhauled his team owner, Hamlin, with ten laps remaining, who was able to fight his way back into the lead when a spin by last-placed Cody Ware on the run to the white flag set up a green-white-chequered flag finish.
With the full field pitting under the yellow, Hamlin and Reddick shared the front row for the restart, and following a brilliant battle with Larson, Reddick secured his fifth win for the season.
In the run to the chequered flag, van Gisbergen was passed for position by Kyle Busch.
Next week, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Super Speedway mode at Talladega, where a long first stage will lead into short final stages, in a bid to spice up the racing.
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