'Nowhere to go' for Brown in NASCAR pile-up

Supercars champion Will Brown was caught out early in his return to the NASCAR Cup Series, following a multi-car pile-up in Chicago.

The Triple Eight Race Engineering driver, driving a Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro, was ruled out of contention after just three laps in the Cup Series race.

Starting 19th, Brown's car sustained heavy damage in a multi-car pile-up that brought the red flag. The crash was triggered by Carson Hocevar, who clipped the wall in his the #77 Spire Motorsports Camaro at Turn 11.

Steering damage sent Hocevar into the outside wall before his car slid across the track and into the path of Austin Dillon's #3 Richard Childress Racing Camaro.

Several cars had nowhere to go, with Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland, Daniel Suarez, Riley Herbst and Brown all picking up significant damage. The track was blocked, triggering a caution, before the race was suspended.

Over team radio, Brown said: “I just had nowhere to go, because I had someone on my right. Started braking and just went into them.”

Speaking on social media, Brown said: “Obviously had a really disappointing day. Today was a bit shit.

“Came around the corner, car moved right, didn't see there was a crash, and just locked up and couldn't avoid it.

"So, so much effort goes into coming over here, being over here for two weeks, being on the simulator. A lot of effort goes into obviously getting all the sponsors on board.

"It was a massive effort coming over here. Wish we got a better result. Just a tough way to end. But I want to thank everyone for their support.

"I've got a big trip back home now to get ready for Townsville. We're hoping to have a strong weekend up there and keep that Sprint Cup championship going. But yeah, shit weekend."

At the time of the stoppage, Spire's Michael McDowell led the race, with 2023 Chicago winner Shane van Gisbergen in contention. McDowell was later ruled out with a struck throttle, with three-time Supercars champion van Gisbergen taking command at the front.

Van Gisbergen went on to flex his muscle as NASCAR's best road course driver, making it two wins in as many days in the Windy City after winning Sunday's (AEST) Xfinity Series race.

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.

The 2025 Supercars season resumes in Townsville on July 11-13. Tickets are on sale now. International viewers can watch the action on SuperView.