SVG quietly getting to grips with oval tracks

Towards the end of his rookie season in Nascar, SVG has recorded his best finish yet at an oval circuit.

He registered tenth place in the latest Nascar Cup Series, despite starting dead last. And the reason he started at the tail of the field was for ‘unapproved adjustments’ post inspection. For that his crew chief was ejected from the meeting. SVG was also served with a stop and go penalty which he undertook on lap 1.

But he was then a lap down and battling the tail enders, until a caution on lap 55 when another car hit the wall. At the end of the first stage he was in 35th place. 

After the beginning of the second stage, a coming together allowed van Gisbergen to return to the lead lap. By the end of the stage, he had worked his way into 19th position. 

At the next altercation, SVG managed to avoid the carnage up ahead, and found himself in 10th position. The drama wasn’t finished though, with the Kiwi on the tail end of a shunt that had no material effect on the car. He thought it had initially but then radioed in to say everything was okay.

A caution flag 15 laps from the end meant everyone could pit for a change of tyres. SVG advanced from 11th to eighth and then Hocevar spun, causing a multicar pile up. At the restart in ninth, the Kiwi lost a place but managed to hold off until the finish. Chase Elliot won, with Denny Hamlin second and several Toyotas finishing after them. SVG ended up just ahead of his Trackhouse Racing teammate, Ross Chastain. 

The Nascar Cup Series returns next Sunday for the Round of 12 elimination race at the Charlotte Roval which includes a road course section.