XFINITY
Shane van Gisbergen qualified 14th but started at the rear after making unapproved adjustments after qualifying for the Mission 200 at the Glen at Watkins Glen International. Van Gisbergen steadily worked his way up through the field and entered the top 20, nine laps into the race. Running in the 15th position with three laps remaining, Van Gisbergen came to pit road for fresh tires and fuel. He returned to the field to complete the stage in the 36th position. The No. 97 team opted to stay out at the stage break caution and Van Gisbergen started the second stage, 7th. He battled a loose handling condition but continued to consistently maintain position. With four laps remaining in the stage, Van Gisbergen and his team opted to pit for fuel, fresh tires and an adjustment. He rejoined the field, 31st with three laps remaining. Van Gisbergen would complete the caution free stage and take the green and white checkered flag, 31st. The No. 97 team stayed out at the stage break caution and started the final stage 10th. Van Gisbergen quickly made his way to 6th before the first caution of the race came out, 3 laps into the stage. Van Gisbergen restarted the stage, 3rd. He gained the lead position on lap 54. The No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet led 13 laps before being forced to pit for fuel and fresh tires with 16 laps remaining in the race. On the last pit stop, Van Gisbergen was issued a pass through penalty with 14 laps remaining in the race. Van Gisbergen rejoined the field 24th and battled to work his way forward. A caution came out with six laps remaining and Van Gisbergen restarted the final stage 14th. Another caution occurred on the restart, resulting in a red flag to clean up debris. Van Gisbergen would try for another restart in 8th with two laps remaining in the race. After another caution flag flew on the first attempt of overtime, Van Gisbergen and the No. 97 stayed out and restarted the second attempt of overtime, 5th. Van Gisbergen took the checkered flag, 5th in overtime.
“It was a tough race for our 97 WeatherTech Chevy. Was hoping for a better day, but just didn’t have much speed and then ended up getting a speeding penalty there in the final stage. Going to continue to learn from this and hopefully get another shot at the win tomorrow in our WeatherTech 16 Cup car.”
CUP
Shane van Gisbergen qualified third for the Go Bowling at The Glen. As the field took the green flag and came up to speed, an incident on lap one resulted in a caution. Van Gisbergen maintained his starting position of 3rd. On lap 14, he advanced one position to second. Immediately following, on lap 15, Crew chief Travis Mack made the call to bring the No. 16 WeatherTech Chevrolet to pit under green flag for four tires and fuel. Van Gisbergen rejoined the field in 15th. Maintaining position, Van Gisbergen completed the stage in the 15th position. The No. 16 WeatherTech team strategized to stay out during the stage-break caution and started the second stage in second place. Van Gisbergen reported the car was really, really good with just a little tightness when approaching the leader. Consistent in his lap times and positioning, the plan was to battle for the lead for 18 laps before planning to pit. A caution occurred with two laps remaining in the stage, resulting in the decision to alter the race strategy. The No. 16 WeatherTech team elected to stay out and concluded the stage second on the leaderboard. The No. 16 team chose to stay out at the stage-break caution, starting the final stage in second, where he battled for 15 laps before dropping to fourth.The No. 16 team opted to pit for fuel and four fresh tires with 32 laps remaining in the race, and Van Gisbergen re-entered the field 33rd. Advancing through the field, Van Gisbergen was scored second when a caution occurred with 10 laps remaining. After a series of late-race cautions, Van Gisbergen restarted third, as the field went into overtime. After taking over the lead, Van Gisbergen made contact with a competitor on the final lap and lost the lead position, ultimately finishing second.
“Gutted for the whole team, just had a driver error. I knew Chris [Buescher] was really going to send it and push me if he could get there. As I turned and got a bit loose, I clipped the inside wall. Our WeatherTech Chevrolet was really good. The race was awesome with Ross [Chastain] and Chris [Buescher] and the others at the end. I’m gutted we couldn’t get it, but I had a lot of fun, but I’m pretty angry at myself.”