Cup Series: Shane van Gisbergen does the double in Chicago

Bailey Defoor
Jul 6
6 min read

Written by Bailey Defoor

Credit: Chris Graythen / Getty Images

Shane van Gisbergen wins in the streets of Chicago, sweeping both races of the weekend from the pole.

As it unfolded

SVG started on the pole alongside Michael McDowell, and they led the way to green. McDowell took the lead into turn 1.

William Byron had a clutch issue on the opening lap but stayed out. Also on the opening lap, Carson Hocevar got shuffled back to seventh from row two.

On lap 3, Byron headed into the pits with an engine issue.

Huge crash on lap 4, bringing out a caution. Hocevar hit the wall and spun around right in front of Austin Dillon. It collected Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suárez, Todd Gilliland, Will Brown and Riley Herbst. AJ Allmendinger was also tagged but not collected in the crash.

It was upgraded to a red flag to remove all of the cars and repair the barrier.

Credit: Rachel Horton / NASCAR Digital Media

The race goes back to caution after about thirty minutes, and Chris Buescher goes into the pit lane with an engine issue.

McDowell and SVG lined up for the restart on lap 7, and McDowell cleared for the lead.

With eight to go in the stage, SVG was right on McDowell’s bumper.

On lap 13, Alex Bowman gets turned around at turn 12 and falls down to 26th.

With 4 to go, some drivers opt to pit and flip the stage. Drivers like Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Josh Berry, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and SVG take the opportunity.

Bell gets a penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

McDowell wins the stage after leading every lap, and fun fact, only once in the last 23 road course races did the Stage 1 winner go on to win. Ironically, it was McDowell at the Indianapolis Road Course in 2023.

Stage 1 Results:

No. 71 - Michael McDowell (Spire Motorsports)
No. 8 - Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Motorsports)
No. 45 - Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing)
No. 19 - Chase Briscoe (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 60 - Ryan Preece (RFK Racing)
No. 1 - Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing)
No. 42 - John H. Nemechek (Legacy Motor Club)
No. 38 - Zane Smith (23XI Racing)
No. 33 - Austin Hill (Richard Childress Motorsports)
No. 4 - Noah Gragson (Front Row Motorsports)

Under caution, some of the drivers pit, and despite pitting at the end of the stage, Bell goes back to pit road as well.

McDowell and Kyle Busch line up for the restart and take the field to green on lap 25. McDowell immediately gets the jump on Busch. Preece and Allmendinger get good starts, making up a couple of places each on the opening lap.

Bubba Wallace spun around from 16th at turn 12 on lap 26 but was able to keep going without a caution.

On lap 30, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, John H. Nemechek, Ty Dillon and Riley Herbst all pit just as the caution is called for Berry, who spun after contact with Erik Jones at turn 7.

Bell and Suárez pit again with damage. McDowell also pits on lap 32 from the lead, and complains that the throttle is stuck at 75 percent. McDowell comes out in 30th.

SVG and Allmendinger take the field back to green on lap 34. SVG clears easily, but Allmendinger is right on his bumper. McDowell goes back onto pit road on the opening lap and has the hood popped. Busch goes around at turn 7 and drops from sixth to 31st.

On lap 40, Katherine Legge spun and stopped on track at turn 1, but she did get going eventually.

SVG pits with three to go in the stage, along with a few of the top 10 runners. Allmendinger pits a lap later and has a slow stop.

Blaney assumed the lead with two to go.

Stage 2 Results:

No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske)
No. 19 - Chase Briscoe (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 45 - Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing)
No. 48 - Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports)
No. 23 - Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing)
No. 11 - Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 9 - Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports)
No. 42 - John H. Nemechek (Legacy Motor Club)
No. 43 - Erik Jones (Legacy Motor Club)
No. 20 - Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing)

Another cycle of pit stops has Briscoe and Reddick in the lead. They led the way to green on lap 49, and Reddick immediately fell back to second as Briscoe cleared for the lead. Denny Hamlin and Bowman go side by side for fourth, but Hamlin comes out ahead.

Within two laps, SVG broke into the top five after starting in tenth, and by lap 51, SVG was within four seconds of Briscoe.

On lap 52, Blaney gets a flat right front tyre and pits from 20th place.

Bowman pits with 20 to go for new tyres and drops to 27th.

On lap 56, SVG joined the top two in a chain, fighting for the lead. SVG gets ahead of Reddick easily by passing on the inside of turn 2, and pushes to catch Briscoe.

On lap 59, SVG goes side by side for the lead going into turn 4, and SVG comes out on top. SVG wasted no time and started building a gap before a caution was thrown. An ambulance needed to leave the track.

Many drivers pit under caution, but SVG and Briscoe stay out. They lead the way once again on lap 62. SVG gets ahead and Gibbs moved up into second.

On lap 63, Ross Chastain got hit by Larson and slid into the tyre barrier at turn 1, while Austin Cindric got knocked sideways and continued with a broken toe link. Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. both spun at turn 2. Stenhouse Jr. was able to drive behind the wall at the green stayed out initially.

The caution was thrown on lap 64 when Cindric stopped on track with his broken toe link.

SVG and Gibbs line up for the restart with 9 to go and SVG is gone. Gibbs had to watch behind him for Allmendinger.

Hard contact between Preece and Briscoe, and Briscoe suffered a flat tyre. This happened at the end of the lap, right before pit road, but Briscoe could make it to the entry. Briscoe had to do another lap on the flat tyre.

Wallace, Bowman and Reddick battled back and forth on lap 69. Wallace hit Bowman into the wall at one point and Wallace got turned around, falling out of the top 10.

Bell goes around on lap 70 after contact with Austin Hill.

On lap 73, Cody Ware lost his brakes and the caution was thrown one lap later, ending the race.

Shane van Gisbergen becomes only the second person in NASCAR history to sweep both the Xfinity and Cup races from pole! The first person was Kyle Busch.

Provisional Results