The name Shane van Gisbergen was uncommon to many fans heading into Sunday’s Grant Park 220 at the Chicago Street Course, and for good reason.
Yes, van Gisbergen’s track record in Australian Supercars is stellar with 79 victories and three championships. But to come to the United States and find instant success, felt like a stretch.
Trackhouse Racing co-owner Justin Marks certainly knew what he was doing when he provided the 34-year-old Kiwi an opportunity to drive his team’s Project91 entry in Chicago.
After a stellar Saturday where van Gisbergen led practice by three-tenths of a second and qualified third, he put the garage on notice.
Then after a rain delay, van Gisbergen flexed his street course muscles, outlasting his 36 competitors to come away with the inaugural Chicago Street Race trophy.
Van Gisbergen’s monumental victory was something that hasn’t been done in 60 years — a driver win in his first career start (1963, Johnny Rutherford, Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway).
While the mild-mannered racer was humble through the process, his fellow competitors didn’t shy away from expressing their thoughts on his performance.
Justin Haley, 2nd
The driver with the best view to van Gisbergen’s triumph on the 12-turn street circuit was Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley.
Haley earned the lead through a pit-strategy call and led 23 laps before being passed by van Gisbergen with five laps remaining.
“We started last today and I felt like we had good pace. We just — yeah, Shane was just better,” Haley admitted. “He had 16 or something lap better tires. Just a world-class racer. He was very calculated, very precise and very smooth. He wasn’t overdriving it. He was very calculated.”
Haley and van Gisbergen had a spirited battle on the penultimate restart which saw hard, clean racing before the driver of the No. 91 Chevrolet powered away.
“For someone to come in and race like that was just incredible,” Haley said. “Very clean, as well. Our race for the lead was clean, and he gave a lot of room and very respectful.”
Chase Elliott, 3rd
Chase Elliott’s up-and-down day ended with a third-place finish aboard the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Elliott believes van Gisbergren was in his own zip code during the shortened 75-lap race.
“He was in a league of his own, and in my opinion, put on a really big-time clinic,” Elliott said.
Admittedly, the 2020 Cup Series champion, who has seven road course victories, felt van Gisbergen simply outraced him.
“I don’t want to speak for everybody else, but he made me look bad, and I kind of think the rest of us, too,” Elliott said. “Looking forward to going to work and trying to be better.”
Kyle Larson, 4th
Arguably, no driver in the field on Sunday has a more diverse background in motorsports than Kyle Larson. Whether it be in a sprint car, late model, midget or Silver Crown car, the 2021 Cup Series champion has won in everything.
Though as Larson relived the final laps as van Gisbergen got around his No. 5 Chevrolet and eventually the lead, he was met with shock.
“It was so fun to watch from my view,” Larson said. “When he got to my back bumper, I felt like I pieced together a really good section and I was like, I thought for sure I’d look in the mirror and I was going to be like two car lengths or something in front of him, and he was glued to my back bumper and I was like, ‘Holy s—, this guy is flying.’
“He was able to get by me, and then I got to watch the show. I kind of followed him through, and the moves he was making really everywhere — he could pass anywhere, but the moves that he could make into (turn) two was really neat to see, and then the pass that he had for the lead — I thought their battle for the lead was great.”
Larson admitted van Gisbergen’s performance put other drivers in their place, stating improvements can always be made inside the cockpit.
“He put on a show and it was cool to see, and I think when a guy like that can come in and kick your ass at your own game, it shows that we all have room to improve,” Larson said.
“I’m curious what he thinks about us. He obviously passed a lot of us, so I’m curious if he thinks we all suck or if we could actually like compete, if we weren’t really that bad.
“We come from a different background than him, but it was great to see, and I hope the fans enjoyed it. Congrats to him and the team and Justin Marks. That was really cool to see.”
This coming weekend van Gisbergen will return to the Supercars Championship with a pair of races making up the Townsville 500. The events will be streamed on SPEED SPORT 1. View all the action on the SPEED SPORT 1 website at www.speedsport1.com.