Shane van Gisbergen led Trackhouse Racing with an 11th-place finish in the NASCAR Cup Series Race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon while teammates Ross Chastain finished 28th and Connor Zilisch was credited with a 29th-place finish.
“Excellent result for the crazy day we had,” commented SVG. “Our SafetyCulture Chevy had a lot of speed, and the team made some good adjustments but had those two spins that reset our progress each time. Passed a lot of cars and had a good points day. Headed to Vegas next weekend with a lot of momentum.”
In Stage 1, Chastain started from sixth and had a loose-handling Kubota Chevrolet but held onto 10th to close out the stage. Van Gisbergen started the race 18th and quickly found his groove in the top 15 by lap 11. He was able to maintain position while finishing the stage 14th. Zilisch started 19th and was very loose throughout the opening segment of the race. He was credited with 29th-place, one lap down, at the conclusion of Stage 1.
Chastain restarted in 11th and teammate van Gisbergen in 14th. The caution was displayed on lap 93 for van Gisbergen spinning and Chastain took the opportunity to visit pit road. He restarted 16th on lap 101. Chastain endured a couple more cautions and reported his Chevrolet’s handling remained a little loose. He ended the stage in 18th.
Following van Gisbergen’s spin, he fought hard to get back on the lead lap, earning his lap back with 18 laps remaining in the stage. He charged his way forward and ended Stage 2 in 20th. Zilisch and the Wendy’s team fought their way back on the lead lap in Stage 2. He finished the stage, 28th.
Van Gisbergen started the final stage, 20th, but ultimately spun again on lap 245. Van Gisbergen worked to gain his track position back through multiple restarts and with 25 laps remaining, the No. 97 team opted to pit for two right side tires. He battled his way to the front and entered the top 10 with 11 laps left in the event. He went on to secure an 11th place finish, his best Cup career finish at the one-mile oval.
Chastain started 21st for the final stage with three sets of fresh tires remaining in the pits. The No. 1 team used a two-tire strategy during the lap-210 caution which put Chastain in sixth for the restart. Unfortunately, just after the restart Joey Logano hit Chastain in the rear bumper which sent the No. 1 Kubota Chevrolet spinning. Chastain gathered it back up but spent several laps on pit road receiving repairs before heading to the garage for more repairs. He eventually returned to the track 26 laps down and finished the event in 28th.
Zilisch and the team continued to make adjustments to the No. 88 Chevrolet in the final stage but unfortunately a brake issue ended their day on lap 281. He was credited with a 29th-place finish in the final rundown.
The NASCAR Cup Series will return to action next Sunday, March 15 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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