Shane Van Gisbergen has finished sixth at the latest NASCAR Cup Series Race at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) on Sunday afternoon while teammates Ross Chastain led Trackhouse Racing with a third-place finish and Connor Zilisch was credited with 30th-place finish after an accident.
“Pretty wild day,” exclaimed SVG. “Jumping in without driving the car all weekend. We were loose to start the race, but my team did a great job working to improve my Red Bull Chevrolet.”
Saturday’s qualifying event was cancelled due to weather resulting in the Trackhouse Racing Chevrolets started based off metrics, Chastain 21st, van Gisbergen 28th and Zilisch 31st.
In Stage 1, Zilisch charged to the front of the pack, where he raced in the top 10 for most of the stage, grabbing stage points with a ninth-place finish. Chastain reported his Wendy’s Chevrolet was tightening up. In the final 10 laps, he navigated his way to the top 15 before ending the stage in 14th. Van Gisbergen quickly gained some spots before the handling of his No. 97 Red Bull Chevrolet affected the long run, and he fought to maintain position and finished the stage 34th.
“To start Stage 2, we were much more competitive and, in the race, almost got some good stage points but had some contact, so that’s a shame,” said van Gisbergen. “We were like a yo-yo, going up and down through the pack (laughs). But lots of potential and a great result in sixth and had fun out there too!”
Early in Stage 2, Zilisch raced into the top five and was able to maintain top 10 track position. The No. 97 team continued to work on van Gisbergen’s Chevrolet before he broke into the top 10 on lap 115. Late in the stage, all three Trackhouse entries raced in the top 10, before Zilisch’s No. 88 Chevrolet became ill-handling moving him to the middle of the pack.
Even with a tight-handling Wendy’s Chevrolet, Chastain reached as high as the second position before he brushed the outside wall on lap 149. Fortunately, he was able to maintain top 15 track position and recovered to finish the stage in 10th. Van Gisbergen was in contention for stage points, before contact was made with another competitor coming to the green-white checkered flag.
In the final stage, the No.1 team took advantage of pit stops to work on the handling and Chastain maneuvered his way through the field. He survived two overtime attempts and a thrilling finish to score a third-place result. Van Gisbergen started 25th before making a fast charge to the front. Van Gisbergen found himself in fourth place on the final lap of overtime, before recording a sixth-place finish, his career best oval finish in a Cup Series race. Unfortunately for Zilisch, his race was cut short when he was swept up in the aftermath of a multi-car accident on the frontstretch on lap 223. He was credited with a 30th-place finish in the final rundown.
The NASCAR Cup Series will return to action next Sunday, March 1 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas.
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