Shane van Gisbergen during the NASCAR Cup Series at Indianapolis.
Van Gisbergen qualified 25th a day earlier in the #97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro and finished Stage 1 in 31st and Stage 2 in 27th.
Stage 3 was where he made the most headway, making ground during the late pit stop sequence and when Ryan Blaney and John Hunter Nemechek clashed on Lap 120.
“Not what we wanted, but what we needed,” said van Gisbergen’s crew chief Stephen Doran.
Van Gisbergen replied: “That’s what we’ve got to do when we’re not there, we’ve got to have those days.”
Van Gisbergen was the third-best Chevrolet Camaro on a day dominated by Toyota and Ford. Just one Camaro featured in the top 10. Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar was ninth.
With his 16th place finish, SVG dropped one place in the standings to 15th while Team Penske’s Joey Logano climbed two places to 13th after finishing third.
Corey Heim was victorious for 23XI Racing in a thrilling conclusion to the race, holding off Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell.
The part-timer made the decisive move on Lap 116 when he vaulted from third to the lead during the pit stop sequence.
Heim survived an attack from Denny Hamlin on the Lap 127 restart. Heim blocked, which compromised Hamlin and left him vulnerable to Bell. He got by Hamlin and so too Logano.
It’s the second career win for the 24-year-old, who won earlier this year at the Coronado Naval Base.
“That was a damn handful. I was hanging on for dear life once the shade went down and the pace picked up,” said Heim.
“My car got really loose and I had never been in a lot of clean air all day. That was the hardest I’ve ever fought in my life to just make sure I focused on exits and kept them in dirty air.
“I’m pretty out of breath. That was a workout. This is a dream come true, to win at the Brickyard.
“I just had to be aggressive. It’s for the win. I’d have to see it back to see if I did anything wrong, but I think we both know we’re racing for the win.
“He has every right to be frustrated with me, but I feel like he would have done the same thing.
“Just had to be on top of it. Got a good push from [Joey Logano] to be in position, so thanks to him.”
It was a bittersweet result for 23XI Racing co-owner Hamlin, who finished fifth after losing out to teammate Chase Briscoe late.
“Everyone’s trying to fight to win the race – and when you’re clear by an inch, you’re going to take that inch,” said Hamlin.
“It’s really more on us and the #20 (Christopher Bell) and the #19 (Chase Briscoe) not orchestrating good pushes there. We became detached at the wrong time.
“I thought the #20 was on board with giving us the push, it just was way too early before the restart zone. I can’t go until I get to the restart zone.
“He said that Briscoe was on him way, way early or laying back. That’s how you lose them. These restarts, when everyone kind of knows when you’re going to go, it’s about the pushes.”
The NASCAR Cup Series takes a one-week break before returning at Iowa Speedway on August 10.
Results: NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Pos
Num
Driver
Team
Car
Laps/Diff
Gap
1
67
Corey Heim
23XI Racing
Toyota Camry
160 laps
2
20
Christopher Bell
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota Camry
0.287
0.287
3
22
Joey Logano
Team Penske
Ford Mustang
0.972
0.685
4
19
Chase Briscoe
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota Camry
5.720
4.748
5
11
Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota Camry
6.120
0.400
6
6
Brad Keselowski
RFK Racing
Ford Mustang
6.805
0.685
7
21
Josh Berry
Wood Brothers Racing
Ford Mustang
7.513
0.708
8
60
Ryan Preece
RFK Racing
Ford Mustang
8.471
0.958
9
77
Carson Hocevar
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
9.072
0.601
10
45
Tyler Reddick
23XI Racing
Toyota Camry
10.338
1.266
11
17
Chris Buescher
RFK Racing
Ford Mustang
10.971
0.633
12
54
Ty Gibbs
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota Camry
11.556
0.585
13
41
Cole Custer
Haas Factory Team
Chevrolet Camaro
14.406
2.850
14
2
Austin Cindric
Team Penske
Ford Mustang
16.675
2.269
15
38
Zane Smith
Front Row Motorsports
Ford Mustang
17.451
0.776
16
97
Shane Van Gisbergen
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
17.834
0.383
17
7
Daniel Suarez
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
18.123
0.289
18
71
Michael McDowell
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
18.479
0.356
19
48
Alex Bowman
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
19.404
0.925
20
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Hyak Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
19.761
0.357
21
24
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
20.271
0.510
22
4
Noah Gragson
Front Row Motorsports
Ford Mustang
21.619
1.348
23
1
Ross Chastain
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
24.072
2.453
24
34
Todd Gilliland
Front Row Motorsports
Ford Mustang
24.296
0.224
25
16
AJ Allmendinger
Kaulig Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
24.499
0.203
26
12
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
Ford Mustang
24.846
0.347
27
43
Erik Jones
Legacy Motor Club
Toyota Camry
25.156
0.310
28
23
Bubba Wallace
23XI Racing
Toyota Camry
25.699
0.543
29
3
Austin Dillon
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
26.562
0.863
30
10
Ty Dillon
Kaulig Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
36.563
10.001
31
51
Cody Ware
Rick Ware Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
37.097
0.534
32
42
John Hunter Nemechek
Legacy Motor Club
Toyota Camry
2 laps
33
33
Austin Hill
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
35 laps
33 laps
34
88
Connor Zilisch
Trackhouse Racing
Chevrolet Camaro
38 laps
3 laps
35
62
Casey Mears
NY Racing Team
Ford Mustang
39 laps
1 lap
36
35
Riley Herbst
23XI Racing
Toyota Camry
40 laps
1 lap
37
9
Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
41 laps
1 lap
38
78
Daniel Dye
Live Fast Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
67 laps
26 laps
39
5
Kyle Larson
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet Camaro
117 laps
50 laps