Make it a full handful as NASCAR Cup Series driver Shane Van Gisbergen won his fifth-consecutive road course race this season, doing so at the Charlotte Roval on Sunday. However, it wasn’t a walk in the park throughout the 109-lap event for SVG and the No. 88 Chevrolet Trackhouse team.
He led 57 circuits around the 2.28-mile, 17-turn Roval and had a late race spirited battle with Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Chevrolet of Hendrick Motorsports. Larson would relinquish the lead with 12 laps remaining to finish second.
Following them for the top five finishers were Playoff contenders Christopher Bell in the No. 20 Toyota, non-contenders Chris Buecher in the No. 17 Ford and Micheal McDowell in the No. 71 Chevrolet.
SVG Enjoyed Larson Battle
“What an awesome race, Christopher and Kyle drove me really well and it got it a little rough,” SVG said. “But man, the battle was awesome. Unbelievable, I really enjoyed that. It was a long time waiting and hoping the yellow wasn’t going to come out.
“I gave him (Larson) a little bump and sent him back and he gave me a slap that kind of set it off. I’m all for it, it was fun and I hope he’s not too pissed off.
“It was pretty aggressive racing there. You enjoy a battle, but you always want to win. It was frustrating when they were passing me at the beginning of the final stage.”
With his fifth consecutive road course victory, SVG trails only NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon who has six.
Larson Fine With SVG Battle and Finish
For Larson, who led 27 laps around the Roval, he had no problem how he and fellow Chevrolet driver SVG duked it out for the lead trading paint.
“I’m happy with a second-place finish for this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team,” said Larson, the defending race winner. “Shane van Gisbergen is just so good. It was a fun battle with Christopher (Bell), too.
“To start the final stage, we were trying to break up his (SVG) rhythm and race, and I thought it was playing out well. He was just so fast. I tried riding. I tried saving my tires, but I just can’t do it as well as he does.
“But overall, it was a great finish and momentum to head into the Round of Eight.”
Larson and team will be ranked third heading into the next Playoff phase.
Who Moves into the Round of 8
The eight drivers who will continue into the Playoffs to determine the Final Four Championship contenders are as follows.
Leading the way is Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney, in by virtue of their wins at Kansas Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway, respectively. Making their way in via points are Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano.
Logano had to survive a back-and-forth point swing with Ross Chastain that wasn’t decided until the final lap. When the white flag waved, Chastain and the No. 1 Chevrolet team were up by two points. When the checkered flag was shown, Logano got in by four markers over Chastain, who had a last turn spin with Hamlin.
Left to Fight for Race Wins
The four drivers who are now out of the Playoffs left to battle for checkered flag accolades, only, are Ross Chastain, Roval pole sitter Tyler Reddick, his 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric. Unfortunately for Cindric, his chances to continue on were cut short when the rear end of his No. 2 Ford was broken after contact with Carson Hocevar.
Next up for the NCS is Las Vegas Motor Speedway, followed by Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway to decide the Final Four.
Shane Van Gisbergen Takes Roval Victory as Round of 8 Decided