DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Last year, New Zealand’s Shane van Gisbergen won the NASCAR Cup Series’ Chicago Street Race in his NASCAR debut.
This year, the three-time Australian Supercars champion will try to add a NASCAR Xfinity Series victory to his resume in The Loop 110 on the 2.14-mile, 12-turn course on the streets of the Windy City (3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I’m looking forward to racing the Xfinity car on this Chicago Street Course,” said van Gisbergen, who is competing full-time in the series for Kaulig Racing. “Obviously, I have already raced the Cup car here, but these cars (Xfinity and Cup) are not comparable.
“So, it’s going to be another massive challenge for me but (crew chief) Bruce (Schlicker) and my 97 Kaulig Racing team always bring fast cars to the track. Happy to have (sponsor) WeatherTech on board with us this weekend in their home city and hopefully park it in Victory Lane.”
Van Gisbergen is seeking his third straight Xfinity victory on courses with both right and left turns, having won back-to-back races at Portland (June 1) and Sonoma (June 8). With the two triumphs, van Gisbergen is guaranteed a spot in the Xfinity Playoffs in his rookie season.
Van Gisbergen will have plenty of competition in Saturday’s race. Defending series champion Cole Custer also is the defending race winner, having led all 25 laps in last year’s inaugural race, which was shortened because of drenching rain.
The Xfinity event also features a handful of excellent road course racers doing double duty, among them Xfinity regular AJ Allmendinger and full-time NASCAR Cup drivers Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, John Hunter Nemechek, Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez.
Source: Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service
