GREAT RESULTS FOR SVG AT NORTH WILKESBORO

This past weekend NASCAR round at North Wilkesboro has seen outstanding results for Shane van Gisbergen in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the Craftsman Truck Series with a 3rd in the trucks and 5th in the Cup Car.  Read our reports below.

Cup Series: Van Gisbergen Masterclass Delivers Historic Short-Track Top 5 at North Wilkesboro

In a milestone night that proved his oval-racing education is moving at highspeed, SVG shattered his short-track ceiling, leading 49 laps and capturing a brilliant fifth-place finish in the Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Driving the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro, the New Zealand road-course maestro wasn’t just surviving the legendary 0.625-mile bullring—he was genuinely dictating the pace at the front of the field. The historic result marked his career-first top-five finish on a NASCAR Cup Series short track.

“What Do I Do Now?” SVG

After starting an impressive eighth, van Gisbergen’s night truly ignited during the first caution cycle on Lap 40. Crew chief Stephen Doran made a strategic call for a two-tire stop, vaulting the No. 97 Wendy’s Chevy up to fourth.

On the ensuing restart, SVG went on an absolute ripper. He aggressively hunted down and passed Joe Gibbs Racing heavyweights Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs, before pulling off a stunning, genuine pass on Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin to take the outright race lead on Lap 52.

The moment even caught the three-time Supercars champion off guard, prompting a hilarious, instantly classic radio transmission to his pit box:

SVG: “I’m leading. What the [expletive] do I do now?” Trackhouse Crew: “I don’t know. Go straight.”

Van Gisbergen comfortably held the point, nearly winning Stage 1 before a last-lap charge by Ty Gibbs edged him at the line.

As the race wore on into a grueling, slick battle of tyre management, van Gisbergen remained a constant presence inside the top five. To find comfort on the tricky surface, he even leaned into old road-racing habits.

Battling severe leg cramps in the mid-summer heat, SVG actually switched from his typical left-foot braking to right-foot braking for the final half of the race just to cope with the fatigue. (it was reported)

During the final 90-lap green-flag run of Stage 3, race winner Joey Logano flew out to a dominant lead, putting all but six cars a lap down. Van Gisbergen took care of his equipment, executed a flawless final pit stop, and cleanly crossed the line in fifth place, giving him a massive 47-point night that padded his cushion over the playoff cutline to 54 points.

Shane van Gisbergen (No. 97 Trackhouse Racing): “It was cool to get the lead. When I took it I got pretty excited. I just wasn’t quite good enough on the long run, but had a lot of fun. Amazing to get stage points in both stages. A bit pissed I threw it away on the final corner of that first stage, but it was just awesome racing up front all night.

Everyone’s racing really respectful up there. I passed Denny and mucked that up and let him back through, it’s just a lot friendlier type of people up front. It’s a bit like a road course here. I tried right-foot braking for a bit because my left leg was sore. You can really affect the car with your driving technique here. Man, when I stopped, I thought, ‘Oh [expletive], I’m pretty cooked.’ It was a good points day, which is what we really need, but we’re still weak on intermediates. That’s where we have to keep pushing.”

TRACKHOUSE REPORT

• Shane van Gisbergen led Trackhouse Racing with a fifth-place finish in NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway on Sunday evening. Teammates Ross Chastain placed 27th and Connor Zilisch finished 32nd.
• Van Gisbergen started eighth for the 450-lap race after the lineup was set per the metric due to inclement weather on Saturday. Van Gisbergen held position before a caution flew on lap 40 and the No. 97 team came to pit road for two right-side tyres. Van Gisbergen restarted the first stage, fourth and quickly took the lead on lap 52. He led for 28 laps but was passed on the final lap of the stage and finished second, scoring nine stage points. To start the second stage, van Gisbergen lined up second and quickly took the lead. He led the first 20 laps before dropping back to second. Van Gisbergen struggled to maintain position as he battled the handling of his Wendy’s Chevrolet during the long run and faded back to fourth before a caution flew on lap 184. The No. 97 team came to service the Chevrolet during the caution, lining up fourth for the restart. Van Gisbergen battled inside the top-5 and finished the stage fifth, collecting more stage points. In the final stage, van Gisbergen started sixth and battled inside the top-5 before for coming to pit road for service on lap 368. Van Gisbergen cycled back to fourth and ultimately took the checkered flag, fifth.

Shane van Gisbergen

“It was an awesome night for the No. 97 Wendy’s Chevrolet team. It was pretty cool to get the lead. I just wasn’t good enough on the long run. But overall, I had a lot of fun. Thank you to Wendy’s, Chevrolet, everyone at Trackhouse Racing for the support. Everyone on this team did a great job. It was a good points race, which is what we really needed.”

Window World 450 – Top 5 Results

Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team / Manufacturer	Laps Led
1	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske (Ford)	323
2	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)	0
3	19	Chase Briscoe	Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)	0
4	54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)	0
5	97	Shane van Gisbergen	Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet)

TRUCKS: Van Gisbergen Storms to Brilliant Podium Finish at North Wilkesboro

In just his fourth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start, SVG delivered an outstanding masterclass in patience and oval racing progression, coming from 19th on the grid to secure a spectacular third-place finish in the FaithFest 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Driving the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado, the three-time Supercars champion has showcased how rapidly his short-track oval craft is evolving with a hope to see this in the Cup Series.

SVG played a calculated long game on the known abrasive, 0.625-mile short track. After qualifying toward the back half of the field in 19th, he focused heavily on saving his tyres and having clean laps under his belt. He wrapped up Stage 1 in 17th and was 14th by the end of Stage 2, staying out of trouble while learning the shifting grip levels of the short track.

The race was completely transformed in the final stage, which ran entirely green for a tiugh 99-lap stretch. Restarting from 11th, van Gisbergen locked into the bottom lane and went from there head down.

Showing no intimidation, he methodically picked off some of the heavy hitters in the field, including reigning Truck Series champion Corey Heim and his own Spire Motorsports teammate, 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott.

With 55 laps remaining, he cracked the top five. And then wrestling 3rd away from championship contender Christian Eckes inside the final 20 laps. While Front Row Motorsports teammates Chandler Smith and Layne Riggs were too far out front to catch, SVG  comfortably crossed the line in third as the highest-finishing Cup Series driver.

The third-place effort equaled his best-ever oval finish across any of NASCAR’s top three divisions (matching his 2024 Xfinity performance at Atlanta).

Shane van Gisbergen (No. 71 Chevy):

“Just time and experience, working with good people. Bono [Kevin Manion, crew chief] did a great job with the truck and thank you to Spire, Nation’sGuard, and Chevy. I had a lot of fun once I figured it out; I kind of learned my own line and started working forward and really enjoyed myself. It’s just time and getting to drive for good teams and good equipment makes it really fun.

It’s all just experience and time racing, learning how other people race, how to approach restarts—it’s just experience. I’m a bit cooked [from the heat], so I’ll get some aircon; I’ll be sweet.”

FaithFest 250 – Top 5 Results

Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team / Manufacturer
1	38	Chandler Smith	Front Row Motorsports (Ford)
2	34	Layne Riggs	Front Row Motorsports (Ford)
3	71	Shane van Gisbergen	Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet)
4	91	Christian Eckes	McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (Chevrolet)
5	45	Landen Lewis	Niece Motorsports (Chevrolet)

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the 2.5-mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400 on Sunday, July 26, 2026. (Monday 27th in Australian Time 4AM AEST.

Photos: supplied Trackhouse and SVG FB page

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