Trackhouse Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen will start Sunday’s Daytona 500-mile race in 13th, while teammates Connor Zilisch starts 32nd and Ross Chastain 37th.
The two 60-lap Daytona Duels held Thursday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway , Florida, determined the starting order for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
After qualifying Wednesday evening, van Gisbergen started 19th in Duel 1. Early into the 60-lap race, the Kiwi maintained track position towards the back of the pack to conserve fuel.
A caution flew on lap 46, forcing the No. 97 to pit under caution. Van Gisbergen lined up eighth for the overtime restart and narrowly avoided a multi-car crash on the final lap, securing a strong sixth-place finish in the opening duel.
“We obviously didn’t qualify as well as we would have liked,” said van Gisbergen. “We missed it a little bit. But once the race started, our No. 97 SuperFile Chevy was really nice.
“We were just patient at the start; saving fuel and riding in the back being safe. Once we were ready to go, I could creep up the pack quite nicely. It was really fun to be competitive and put ourselves in a good spot. We got close to a couple of wrecks but missed them. We had a good pit stop, and it worked out really well. It’s a good starting spot for Sunday.”
The Cup Series will practice Friday and Saturday before returning to action in Sunday’s 68th annual Daytona 500.
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