Shane van Gisbergen opens up about his ‘rough’ road to Charlotte victory over Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell

Shane van Gisbergen won Sunday’s playoff race at the Charlotte ROVAL, making it his fifth victory of the 2025 season. But the driver had to work for it. There was an intense battle between Gisbergen and Kyle Larson during the final stage, following which the Auckland native bagged the lead and pulled away to the checkered flag with a whopping 15.160-second margin of victory.

Gisbergen’s job was made harder by Christopher Bell, who trailed Larson on Lap 63 as the No. 5 Chevy drove past Gisbergen’s No. 88. It was only a cycle of green-flag pit stops later that Gisbergen managed to pass Bell for second. About eight laps later, the Cup Series rookie saw his opening in the Turn 7 hairpin and veered to Larson’s inside, snatching the lead.

After a few rounds of lead swapping and significant contact, Gisbergen was able to clear Larson on Lap 98, while stretching his tires enough to stay off pit road. Reflecting on his battle with Larson and Bell, Shane van Gisbergen told NBC Sports,

“What an awesome race, Kyle and Christopher driving really good and got a little rough. But man, the battle was awesome. And we had a fast Chevy. I lost it a little bit at the start of Stage 3 and whatever they did for the rest of the race. Unbelievable. Really enjoyed that, and that was a long time waiting hoping the yellow wasn't going to come out.”

“I got (Larson) in a little bump at (Turn) 7 by accident, and he just slammed me, and that sort of set it off,” he continued. “But it was fun. I hope he’s not too pissed off.”

Shane van Gisbergen now has five straight road course wins, one short of Jeff Gordon’s Cup Series record set between 1997 and 2000. Larson finished second, and Bell third, with the rest of the top five rounded off by Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell. Filling out the remainder of the top-10 were Ryan Preece, Daniel Suárez, Chase Elliott, AJ Allmendinger, and Tyler Reddick.

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Mixed emotions for Trackhouse Racing as Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR teammate gets eliminated from the playoffs

While Shane van Gisbergen had the last laugh at Charlotte on Sunday, another narrative of bitter disappointment surfaced for Trackhouse Racing. Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 2 Chevy Camaro, was eliminated from the playoff picture on the last lap of the 109-lap event.

Chastain finished 21st, four points behind Joey Logano, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion. Initially, he had a one-point advantage over the Penske icon entering the final lap. But it all came crashing down when Chastain lost a spot to Denny Hamlin and spun in the final turn in a last-ditch effort to regain the lead.

“It’s terrible to get to this level and not perform. When you watch and you learn and you study for half your life to get here and to fail is a terrible feeling right no," Chastain said in a statement. "Just unforced errors. Just terrible. So it’s heartbreaking for almost 200 employees at Trackhouse.”

Shane van Gisbergen had fallen out of the playoff picture right in the opening round. And now, Chastain has dropped out, too. Thus ends Trackhouse Racing’s bid for the 2025 Cup Series championship.