Shane Van Gisbergen’s headline Chicago wins sees NASCAR get a significant viewership boost

Shane Van Gisbergen's performance in Chicago has shut down all the comments that were made when he qualified for the NASCAR playoffs this season with a win at Mexico. The driver has showcased unreal dominance on the road courses in the NASCAR calendar, which has attracted a major chunk of viewers. He has remained almost unbeatable on the streets of Chicago by winning in four out of his five starts at the venue, Xfinity and Cup Series combined.

Gisbergen swept this race weekend with a pole position in both the Xfinity and Cup races, followed by wins in both the Loop 110 and the Grant Park 165 races. With this victory, the driver also joined Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson in having multiple Cup Series wins this year. Kyle Busch is the only other driver who was able to achieve this feat. Busch accomplished this achievement during the Brickyard 400 race at Indianapolis in 2016.

The JR Motorsports driver also created a significant impact on the viewership statistics of the NASCAR Xfinity Series with his performance, as reported by NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck. According to Gluck, the race broadcast on WGN this year saw a 51% increment in viewers compared to last year's NBC broadcast.

Jeff Gluck

@jeff_gluck

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The Xfinity Series race at Chicago got a great number -- 1.137 million average viewers. With the race on WGN in Chicago, it was up 51% locally compared to the NBC affiliate last year.

NASCAR: Shane van Gisbergen after winning the Grant Park 165 race - Source: Imagn

With his win at the Grant Park 165, Gisbergen also became the foreign driver with the most wins in the NASCAR Cup Series. He surpassed Daniel Suarez, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Marcos Ambrose, who all have two wins each.

Gisbergen will return to action for the Toyota Save Mart 350 race scheduled at the Sonoma Raceway next weekend.

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Shane Van Gisbergen explains his 3 AM post after victory at Chicago

Shane Van Gisbergen's performance during the race weekend at Chicago wasn't the only thing to talk about during his weekend. Fans were also surprised to see the driver's vague social media post at 3 AM after his Grant Park 165 race victory.

The driver posted regarding his availability for the next morning via his X account.

Shane Van Gisbergen

@shanevg97

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I won’t be available in the morning please try me in the afternoon. thanks

The 36-year-old explained the reason behind his post a day after, which a lot of fans had already been able to decipher.

"Well, I don’t remember sending that Tweet – so there you go! It was a great night. We had most of the team guys. Came around to my place and we just celebrated. We didn’t get to celebrate Mexico together. I got sick, and so did a lot of the other guys. Got home at an okay hour. We had a good weekend. Good to get it together and celebrate it,” Shane Van Gisbergen said via a NASCAR show.

The Trackhouse Racing driver has had a great run in the sport lately with two victories in the span of four races. He is currently ranked 27th in the NASCAR Cup Series rankings for this season, scoring a total of 308 points so far. The driver hopes to have his third victory of the season next weekend at the Sonoma Raceway.