Van Gisbergen dominates Chicago, heartbreak for Brown
Shane van Gisbergen dominates Chicago NASCAR Cup race
Three-time Supercars champion won incident-packed race
Early heartbreak for Will Brown, who was taken out on lap 3
It was a day of feast and famine for Supercars champions in Chicago, with Shane van Gisbergen flexing his muscle as NASCAR's best road course driver after Will Brown's day ended early.
Three-time Supercars champion van Gisbergen made it two wins in as many days in the Windy City after winning the Xfinity Series race on Sunday morning Australian time.
Of the six NASCAR races (three Cup and three Xfinity) run on the streets of Chicago since 2023, van Gisbergen has won four times.
Starting from pole on Monday (AEST), van Gisbergen remained in contention through the stage breaks, and survived a series of late cautions to pull away and secure Cup Series win No. 3.
After a late caution, the race restarted with nine laps to go, with van Gisbergen sharing the front row with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs.
Trackhouse Racing star van Gisbergen fended off a feisty Gibbs before the green flag flew, and quickly opened up a 1.2s lead after the first standing lap.
From there, van Gisbergen controlled the race, and won in NASCAR's top three tiers for the seventh time. The three-time Bathurst 1000 winner now has three Cup wins to go with four Xfinity wins, making van Gisbergen the most successful foreign-born driver in NASCAR.
Van Gisbergen also became only the second driver in NASCAR history to sweep the pole and race for both the Xfinity and Cup Series in the same weekend at the same track.
"We made no mistakes," said van Gisbergen, who won 80 Supercars races between 2011 and 2023.
"There were some really fast cars, we seem to get it right here, make no mistakes, smooth every lap, really cool."
Van Gisbergen now has two wins and 10 Playoff points to his disposal, adding: "How good is that, unreal, we're really come together as a team."
After winning at the road course in Mexico City last month, van Gisbergen will now go for back-to-back wins next weekend when NASCAR returns to Sonoma, California.
It was a shorter and tougher day for reigning Supercars champion Brown, who was taken out early.
Driving a Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Chevrolet Camaro, Brown was ruled out of contention after just three laps after picking up heavy damage in a multi-car pile-up.
The incident, triggered by Carson Hocevar, brought the red flag.
Speaking on team radio, Brown said: “I just had nowhere to go, because I had someone on my right. Started braking and just went into them.”
Brown will return to Australia ahead of this weekend's seventh round of 2025, the NTI Townsville 500, on July 11-13. Supercars drivers will contest races on all three days of the event.
Tickets for the NTI Townsville 500 are on sale now. International viewers can watch the action on SuperView.
