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NASCAR Xfinity Series Fans Respond To Shane Van Gisbergen Overcoming Heat, Outmuscling The Loop 110 Field At Chicago Street Race

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
Updated –
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NASCAR Xfinity Series Fans Respond To Shane Van Gisbergen Overcoming Heat, Outmuscling The Loop 110 Field At Chicago Street Race

Shane van Gisbergen is going for NASCAR’s version of a perfect sweep. After earning pole positions for both national series events at Chicago Street Race, the three-time Supercars champion again proved his road-course prowess Saturday, overcoming heat issues to capture The Loop 110.

Challenged by JR Motorsports teammate Connor Zilisch off the final restart of the 50-lap downtown event, van Gisbergen outmuscled the rookie along Turn 1, forcing him into the outside barrier. The No. 9 Chevrolet pulled away during the final 11 turns, winning by 0.823 seconds.

“He’s a great young driver,” Van Gisbergen said as reported by SI.com. “I knew that was my opportunity, and I took it.”

Van Gisbergen, who spent extended time in the care center after the race because his cool suit malfunctioned, posted his third Windy City title in five events, including consecutive Xfinity outings.

X (Twitter) users responded to street racing in Chicago …

The pre-race Chicago call …

Fans created bleachers where they could along Turns 1-6 Saturday …

Going green in Chicago …

Sheldon Creed attempted to challenge van Gisbergen on Lap 2, but it didn’t work out. After briefly falling behind, the pole-sitter’s No. 9 Chevrolet bumped Creed’s No. 00 Ford back to second. Four laps later, van Gisbergen led by 1.323 seconds …

William Sawalich finished P37 in today’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race. The rookie endured electrical issues on lap 7 and did not finish. His bad luck continued …

After missing his chance to take the lead early, Creed remained in contention throughout the race, placing P3 …

The final restart and the clincher for van Gisbergen …

After leading for 27 of 50 laps, van Gisbergen, who blitzed the field after a Stage 1 pit-stop miscalculation placed the No. 9 Chevrolet in the trailing pack, executed a come-from-behind victory burnout …

Just for kicks …

Attemping to get over his teammate’s late move, Zilisch, who started last, collected himself and went to a show …

Updated points race …

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  
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