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Shane Van Gisbergen won the latest NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course on July 2, his first career NASCAR victory in his first career start.
Van Gisbergen started third and was in the Top 5 for the majority of the race and passed Justin Haley with a handful of laps left to take home the victory.
Here are three takeaways from the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 220 at the Chicago Street Course on Sunday, July 2.
#3 NASCAR defies the odds
After a momentous Saturday afternoon that saw a solid practice session and qualifying round for the Xfinity and Cup Series, the rain brought everything to a halt.
The Xfinity race was postponed until Sunday morning after 23 laps and was later postponed before the halfway point. The chaos continued as downpours continued and the Cup race was delayed, but eventually got underway and got the majority of it done.
While a lot of these circumstances were out of their control. NASCAR deserves credit for being resilient and getting the Cup race in successfully despite the odds.
#2 Don’t judge a book by its cover
Coming into this race, fans were very skeptical about what we would see. Some thought we’d see a wreck fest with cars having a tough time even completing one lap. Others thought it would mirror an F1 race where the pole sitter would pull away and win by 10+ seconds.
What we did see was an entertaining first street race in NASCAR Cup Series history. While it was hard to pass, it wasn’t impossible. There was action through the pack and the cream rose to the top in the end.
This should be yet another reminder to not judge a race, good or bad, until the checkered flag waves.
#1 The return of the road ringer
For the past decade, the “road course ringer” had become a thing of the past in NASCAR. Gone were the days of guys like Boris Said and Marcus Ambrose showing up to Sonoma and Watkins Glen as immediate contenders. That is until today.
Shane Van Gisbergen made his NASCAR debut this weekend and made an immediate impact. He had pace in practice and qualified third. He remained in the Top 5 for the entire race and took home the upset victory.
Van Gisbergen’s performance may open up the door for the return of the road course ringers and add even more intrigue to NASCAR road course racing.
