July 2, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Shane Van Gisbergen (91) leads the field over the Balbo Drive Bridge on the final lap en route to victory in the Grant Park 220 Chicago Street Race, as seen from the NEMA building in Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports This weekend in the country’s second-largest city, road racer standout Shane van Gisbergen will seek his second victory: another NASCAR Cup Series win.
When the Grant Park 165 takes the green flag on Sunday for the second edition of the Chicago Street Race, all eyes will be on the New Zealander’s return to the Windy City.
The Trackhouse Motorsports driver shocked the NASCAR world a year ago when he won the inaugural Chicago race, securing the victory as streetlights came on and darkness descended on the highways through the city.
Dubbed SVG for brevity, the Project 91 Chevrolet road racer passed Justin Haley to win the race, which was shortened by 25 laps due to impending darkness.
Auckland, New Zealand native Johnny Rutherford became the first driver to win NASCAR’s premier series in 60 years. He won in 1963 at Daytona in a qualifying race, which was then considered a points event.
Van Gisbergen, 35, is competing in just a handful of Cup races this season, but he has already left an indelible mark on the Xfinity Series, where he drives the No. 97 Chevrolet full-time for Kaulig Racing alongside teammate AJ Allmendinger.
In the first Xfinity Series race of June at Portland Raceway, he beat Justin Allgaier on a restart with four laps to go. The three-time Australian Supercars champion then repeated the feat the following weekend at Sonoma Raceway with another victory, leading 32 of 79 laps and beating Sheldon Creed for his second career series triumph.
Kaulig team president Chris Rice was impressed with van Gisbergen and said his style was different from that of Allmendinger, a road racing lookalike.
“It’s a different stage,” Rice said. “AJ came to us and was one of the best road racing drivers of all time in the sport. His driving style and SVG’s are so different, SVG is going to be the best driver in Australia and the way they do it and he’s got to learn how to drive those cars.”
Bookmakers do not believe his victory in Chicago was a fluke.
According to the odds from Draft Kings, SVG opened as the +500 favorite followed by Kyle Larson (+600), Christopher Bell (+600), Tyler Reddick (+650) and last year’s third-place finisher, Chase Elliott (+800).
“SVG is a special driver,” Rice added. “He’s got more talent than we’ve seen in a long time, coming from other places. He’s going to do really well, but when you get to Cup, it’s a lot harder than getting to Xfinity.”
“He has so much control over his car, it’s incredible.”
In news, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry will move from the No. 4 Ford to the legendary Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford in 2025, replacing second-year driver Harrison Burton.
Berry becomes the second SHR driver to secure a ride for next season, joining Chase Briscoe, who will replace the retiring Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing.
Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece are the last two SHR drivers who will not have a ride for next season, while Cole Custer appears to be the favourite to drive for the new Haas factory team in 2025.
–Field level media
