FROM STEERING WHEEL SCARE TO TOP 20: SVG SURVIVES WILD BRICKYARD 400

Shane van Gisbergen navigated a wild afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, overcoming a strange mid-race steering wheel mishap and dodging late-lap chaos to capture 16th-place finish in the Brickyard 400. The result marks his best-ever NASCAR Cup Series finish on the famous 2.5-mile rectangular oval, improving upon his 19th-place run at the venue previously.

The strong finish keeps him inside the Cup Series Playoff grid with a 57-point cushion above the cut line with just four regular-season races to go.

SVG began the race in 25th in the No. 97 Chevrolet. He maintained position early through Stage 1 (finishing 28th) and Stage 2 (finishing 27th), quietly biding his time as track conditions shifted under him.

During a pit road exit under caution early in the race, he attempted to disconnect and re-fit his steering wheel while rolling along the apron to fix a slight misalignment. With the wheel briefly removed, his car drifted off the apron and onto the infield grass before he safely re-attached it and continued on.  A hairy moment indeed.

A huge 9 car wreck on a late-race restart took out several contenders, but van Gisbergen was able to maneuvered around the wreckage to gain critical position and jump inside the top 20 on the way to the finish.

A final long green-flag stretch saw SVG crossing the finish line in creditable 16th place. Corey Heim took the victory.

“Strategy could have gone a little bit better, but to come away with a clean race and gain positions on an oval like this is solid. Every point counts as we get closer to the playoffs” said SVG.

Brickyard 400 – Select Final Results

TRACK HOUSE RACING REPORT

• Shane van Gisbergen led Trackhouse Racing with a 16th-place finish in NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis (Ind.) Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Teammates Ross Chastain placed 23rd and Connor Zilisch finished 34th.
• Van Gisbergen started the 160-lap race 25th. The balance of the No. 97 Wendy’s Chevrolet was decent, van Gisbergen reported as he raced his way into 16th before coming to pit road for service on lap 37. Van Gisbergen cycled back to 24th when another caution flew on lap 44. The No. 97 team opted to come to pit road for fresh tires and fuel at the caution and ended the first stage, 28th. Van Gisbergen started stage 26th and battled his way forward, entering the top 10 on lap 88 before making a green flag pit stop from the 8th position on lap 89. The No. 97 Chevrolet finished the stage 27th. For the final stage, van Gisbergen lined up 23rd and a caution quickly flew on lap 114, giving the No. 97 team the opportunity to come to pit road for service one final time. He restarted 19th and battled his way forward for the final 41 laps, ultimately taking the checkered flag, 16th.

Shane van Gisbergen

“Solid day for our 97 Wendy’s team. My Chevy was pretty good all day and the guys worked hard to help me gain track position, it’s just so difficult to pass here. Happy to get a decent result heading into the off weekend to keep us in contention for a Chase spot.”

NASCAR Cup Series now takes a short break and returns on 8-10 August at Iowa Speedway.

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