Shane van Gisbergen next to his #97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro.
Although he failed to score stage points in the 300-lapper, he delivered when it mattered most in the final stanza.
In an enthralling close to the race, van Gisbergen pipped 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick by 0.001s and Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports by 0.005s at the chequered flag.
With that, the Trackhouse Racing driver banked 32 points.
Van Gisbergen has moved to 12th as a result, while RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski dropped from 11th to 13th after he was wrecked out of the race following contact with Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon on Lap 193. Keselowski was classified 34th.
Bubba Wallace was another to suffer a slump. The 23XI Racing driver dropped from 13th to 15th after he too failed to finish the Cracker Barrel 400.
Wallace was blindsided on Lap 204 when RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece got loose and shot up the road into the path of the #23 Toyota Camry.
Wallace went into the wall and took Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron with him into the barrier. In the end, Wallace was classified 32nd.
SVG leads at Nashville en route to career-best oval finish
“It was a pretty awesome day for this #97 Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge Chevrolet team,” said van Gisbergen.
“Starting up front obviously helps, but it was cool to lead some laps and battle at the front.
“Our Chevy was running really well all night. I really enjoyed myself tonight.
“I learned a lot. I learned to be comfortable moving around in (Turns) 1 and 2, which I’ve never been able to do before.
“We just got the balance better on the two-tire strategy. When we were on a four-tyre strategy, we were lacking that.
“The two-tyre stop at the end, we were able to get the balance back again. It was a lot of fun. It definitely feels like we’re making headway.”
Reddick remains atop the points ahead of fellow Toyota driver Denny Hamlin, who won the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
NASCAR returns at Michigan International Speedway on June 8 (AEST).
NASCAR Cup Series points after Nashville Superspeedway
Pos
Num
Driver
Team
Points
Diff
Gap
Gain/Loss
Race Wins
Stage Wins
1
45
Tyler Reddick
23XI Racing
657
0
5
0
2
11
Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
560
97
97
0
2
4
3
12
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
483
174
77
0
1
1
4
9
Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports
460
197
23
1
2
1
5
54
Ty Gibbs
Joe Gibbs Racing
449
208
11
-1
1
1
6
5
Kyle Larson
Hendrick Motorsports
409
248
40
0
0
4
7
20
Christopher Bell
Joe Gibbs Racing
399
258
10
1
0
3
8
17
Chris Buescher
RFK Racing
393
264
6
-1
0
0
9
77
Carson Hocevar
Spire Motorsports
383
274
10
0
1
0
10
7
Daniel Suarez
Spire Motorsports
378
279
5
0
1
1
11
24
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
352
305
26
1
0
1
12
97
Shane Van Gisbergen
Trackhouse Racing
348
309
4
2
1
1
13
6
Brad Keselowski
RFK Racing
347
310
1
-2
0
2
14
19
Chase Briscoe
Joe Gibbs Racing
343
314
4
1
0
0
15
23
Bubba Wallace
23XI Racing
338
319
5
-2
0
2
16
2
Austin Cindric
Team Penske
306
351
32
1
0
1
17
60
Ryan Preece
RFK Racing
304
353
2
-1
0
1
18
22
Joey Logano
Team Penske
297
360
7
0
0
0
19
71
Michael McDowell
Spire Motorsports
275
382
22
1
0
0
20
38
Zane Smith
Front Row Motorsports
272
385
3
1
0
1
21
43
Erik Jones
Legacy Motor Club
270
387
2
1
0
1
22
16
AJ Allmendinger
Kaulig Racing
266
391
4
-3
0
1
23
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Hyak Motorsports
263
394
3
3
0
0
24
3
Austin Dillon
Richard Childress Racing
244
413
19
0
0
0
25
34
Todd Gilliland
Front Row Motorsports
240
417
4
0
0
0
26
1
Ross Chastain
Trackhouse Racing
239
418
1
-3
0
3
27
35
Riley Herbst
23XI Racing
224
433
15
0
0
0
28
42
John Hunter Nemechek
Legacy Motor Club
213
444
11
0
0
0
29
4
Noah Gragson
Front Row Motorsports
202
455
11
0
0
0
30
10
Ty Dillon
Kaulig Racing
177
480
25
1
0
0
31
21
Josh Berry
Wood Brothers Racing
174
483
3
-1
0
0
32
48
Alex Bowman
Hendrick Motorsports
160
497
14
0
0
0
33
41
Cole Custer
Haas Factory Team
150
507
10
1
0
0
34
88
Connor Zilisch #
Trackhouse Racing
147
510
3
-1
0
0
35
51
Cody Ware
Rick Ware Racing
117
540
30
0
0
0
# denotes rookie driver
Get the latest NASCAR news, stats, and US racing coverage at Speedcafe US