SHANE van Gisbergen has put in a statement drive in his quest to qualify for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase, finishing fifth at North Wilkesboro.
After leading 49 laps early and nearly winning the first stage, he ran within the top five for much of the race and was one of only six cars to finish on the lead lap.
By scoring points in both stages, he logged the third-highest point score for the race.
The provisional result propels the sophomore racer to 14th in the standings, widening his buffer to 54 points over the Chase cutoff with five races remaining.
The laps led brought his career tally to over 600, making him the 126th driver to reach the mark in the 78 years of NASCAR Cup competition.
The effort came after he finished third in the NASCAR Truck Series race at the storied North Carolina venue, with the result backing up the sixth place he earned last weekend in Atlanta.
The fifth-place result mirrors his career-best effort on an oval in the Cup Series, which came this year at Nashville.
“When I took the lead, I got pretty excited!” Said van Gisbergen.
“Thank you to Wendy’s, Trackhouse, Chevy, awesome day and just amazing to get stage points both stages… a bit pissed I threw it away at the last corner on that first stage, but just awesome racing up front all night.”
In a hot race, SVG had to overcome cramping mid-race.
“I mean, it’s just hot, man, it’s just soaked the whole time, and when you’re behind people, you just start cooking as well; you feel the brakes, tyres, everything just gets hot.
“I was struggling, like I felt fine, but when I stopped, I went, oh shit, I’m pretty cooked, but it was fun.
“I swapped a right foot brake for half the race because my left leg was sore and that was fine.”
After qualifying was rained out, SVG launched from eighth position and was placed ninth on lap 39 of 450 when John Hunter Nemechek spun.
Taking on two tyres in the pit stop, van Gisbergen lined up from fourth for the restart, but swiftly displaced Denny Hamlin for the lead when he radioed to the team – “I’m leading, what the **** do I do now?”
Ultimately, Ty Gibbs pipped SVG on the run out of the final corner of the stage to take maximum points by only 0.074s, after the Kiwi led a stretch of 28 laps.
Following a four-tyre stop, the #97 Chevrolet lined up from second for the restart, after Gibbs was pinged for speeding in the pits.
Van Gisbergen quickly regained the ascendancy, out-muscling Joey Logano for the lead, holding station in the lead until lap 113.
A long green flag run followed, with SVG dropping to sixth, before catching a break when Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick tangled on lap 183.
Restarting from fourth, van Gisbergen advanced to third when Josh Berry was tipped into a spin by Christopher Bell on lap 199.
At the end of the stage, the former Supercars champion battled with Bubba Wallace and Carson Hocevar to claim further stage points in fifth.
Restarting from sixth, van Gisbergen headed to the Trackhouse Racing crew on lap 365 for a green flag stop from third position.
Within the last 25 circuits, Ty Gibbs passed SVG for fourth.
The race win went to Joey Logano.
Next week, the NASCAR Cup Series continues at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the Brickyard 400.