Van Gisbergen claims first NASCAR Xfinity win
Shane van Gisbergen claims first NASCAR Xfinity win
Van Gisbergen passed Justin Allgaier after late restart
Cam Waters, Will Brown to make Cup Series debuts next weekend
Three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen has broken through for his first victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in Portland, in just his 13th start.
Van Gisbergen took the lead from Justin Allgaier after a late restart and raced away to his maiden victory in NASCAR's second tier, and second victory overall on Sunday (AEST).
The three-time Bathurst winner's win comes a week before long-time Supercars rivals Cam Waters and Will Brown make their Cup Series debuts in Sonoma.
The Portland win came nearly 12 months after the Kiwi wowed world motorsport with victory on his Cup Series debut in Chicago.
Last July, van Gisbergen became the first driver in 60 years to win on his Cup Series debut in the inaugural Chicago street race, before claiming a third Bathurst 1000 win and finishing second behind new Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki.
Van Gisbergen's win also caps a major month for Supercars exports, with Scott McLaughlin scoring his first Indianapolis 500 pole position, before racing to sixth in last week's race.
Van Gisbergen's path to victory came after first-lap contact with Sam Mayer, before he later ran off the road before fighting back into contention.
The victory also locks van Gisbergen into a NASCAR Xfinity Playoffs spot in his rookie season in the series.
It's a battle for the win at @Race_Portland! @shanevg97 goes back to the lead! pic.twitter.com/zeiZgRwnSe
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) June 1, 2024
Van Gisbergen will resume his Xfinity Series campaign at Sonoma next week, where Waters and Brown will make cameos for RFK Racing and Richard Childress Racing respectively. Van Gisbergen will also be Brown's spotter for the June 9 race.
"Firstly, I'm very sorry to Sam Mayer and the #1 team for the first corner [incident]," 80-time Supercars race winner van Gisbergen told the broadcast.
"I just mucked up there and just clipped him, very sorry. He got back well.
"What a day. It was really cool, had some great racing. I need to get better at my restarts and learn how to position, but that was so much fun. Really, really cool racing."
Waters and Brown will return to Australia after their Sonoma cameos for Round 5 of the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship in Darwin. Brown leads the championship, while Waters is the most recent Supercars race winner after breaking through in Perth.
The betr Darwin Triple Crown will be held on June 14-16. Tickets for the event are on sale now. International viewers can follow all the action on Superview.
