Shane van Gisbergen qualified 13th for the RAPTOR King of Tough 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
By lap six, van Gisbergen settled into 17th, learning his way around the 1.5- mile oval. Continuing to run single-file in the draft, van Gisbergen was scored in 16th on lap 20.
Happy with the handling on his WeatherTech Chevrolet, van Gisbergen ended the stage in 11th. van Gisbergen started the second stage in 31st after coming down pit road for adjustments under the stage one break. With his No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet working well in the draft, van Gisbergen picked up multiple spots and was scored in 22nd when the caution flag waved on lap 59.
By lap 72 van Gisbergen worked his way into 17th and ended the stage in the same spot lap 80. After pitting for fuel only under the stage two break, van Gisbergen picked up 12 spots on pit road and restarted the final stage in fifth on lap 88. By lap 100, van Gisbergen was scored in 12th, continuing to run in the top lane. Staying in the top lane, van Gisbergen worked his way into 11th with 20 laps remaining and radioed to his team he was a tick tight getting off the corner.
The fourth caution of the night waved with two laps remaining and van Gisbergen scored in 10th. Tight on fuel, the WeatherTech team came down pit road under the caution for service.
After a quick splash for fuel, van Gisbergen restarted seventh. Following a green/white/checkered finish, van Gisbergen crossed the finish line 3rd, earning his first top-five finish of the 2023 season.
“To come home with a third-place finish is an awesome feeling! I had a blast out there and really enjoyed myself. Thanks to Bruce and all the guys on this WeatherTech Chevy team. Looking forward to Vegas next week!”