SHANE van Gisbergen has completed an epic comeback drive in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Watkins Glen, finishing third after placing 22nd with only 11 laps remaining.
It was an at-times frustrating race for SVG, with intermittent fuel-pressure issues, persistent radio problems, tough pit stops, and a loose rear-view mirror.
“We had a shocker with mechanicals, but the guys were great, Niece (Motorsports) did a good job fixing it up, and the guys here prepared a good truck,” van Gisbergen said.
“We weren’t quite fast enough, but had some fun on those last restarts, and got a lot of spots, which was cool.”
Saddled up for triple duty this weekend, there were lessons to be learned for van Gisbergen.
“The restarts mainly, with how tight turn one is,” he said.
“There’s a lot of carnage down there, and you have to prop it up.
“I managed to put myself in some good spots, but definitely worth doing this race to learn that.”
After qualifying in eighth, van Gisbergen held station in the opening exchanges before being passed by Carson Hocevar, with the Kiwi noting his Silverado was slow on the straights.
On lap 16 of 72, SVG reported the car lost fuel pressure on multiple occasions going through the Esses, before he pitted on the next circuit from ninth.
As the pit sequence was unfolding, at turn one, Corey LaJoie came into contact with Christian Eckes, who spun.
Daniel Hemric won the stage with van Gisbergen in 29th.
From a planned sixth on the restart, the truck of Cole Butcher, directly ahead of SVG, didn’t launch, causing chaos through the field.
Ultimately, van Gisbergen landed in seventh behind Ross Chastain, with a loose rear-view mirror an issue for the Kiwi.
With five laps to go, van Gisbergen lost a position to Layne Riggs and came under fire from Andres Perez De Lara.
As some trucks flipped the stage, SVG was classified sixth at the green-and-white chequered flag, with Connor Zilisch winning the stage.
The run ended with Wesley Slimp bowling a wide through the inner loop grass.
Following a tardy pit stop, SVG restarted in 15th, which became 10th after one lap.
With van Gisbergen placed ninth, the caution flashed on for the stranded car of Grant Enfinger, with van Gisbergen heading in for four tyres following some jumbled radio messaging.
The slow stop dropped SVG to 22nd on the green flag with 11 laps to go.
The restart didn’t last, with Hocevar spinning into the pit wall after contact with AJ Allmendinger, while Ross Chastain was pinged from the lead with a restart violation.
The next attempt at a restart saw multiple cars crash at the first turn, as trucks piling into the new temporary tyre stacks.
SVG was placed 11th for the subsequent restart.
Multiple trucks wrecked on the next restart attempt, including Chastain, setting up a green-white-chequered-flag finish.
Giovanni Ruggiero, in second place, was the next to be called for a restart violation, leaving SVG in sixth.
Another big restart saw the Niece Motorsport truck work its way through to third behind an emotional Kaden Honeycutt, who also won the ARCA race earlier in the day, and Zilisch.
Tomorrow will be a busy day for van Gisbergen on track, with NASCAR O’Reilly Series practice and qualifying first up, followed by Cup Series practice and qualifying, with his schedule rounded out by the O’Reilly Series race from 6:00am AEST.
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