Earlier this year in Mexico City, Shane van Gisbergen made waves by crushing the field with a dominant NASCAR Cup Series win. He won by more than 16 seconds, a feat unheard of in the last decade of Cup Series racing. But instead of universal praise, SVG found himself in the middle of a firestorm, as critics argued he didn’t belong in the playoffs.
NASCAR legend Richard Petty called the current system “flawed,” questioning how a road-course ringer sitting 30th in points could take a playoff spot from full-season racers. “That can’t be right,” Petty said. “You’re making a championship situation by winning a road course, which is not really NASCAR to begin with.” But SVG didn’t back down.
“That’s the reason I’m here: to win road courses and get in the playoffs,” he told Shannon Spake after Mexico. He knew the rules. He played within them. And he made it clear that he wasn’t going to apologize for winning. Still, some in the NASCAR world saw him as a gimmick; talented, sure, but a fluke, only dangerous on circuits that twisted left and right. That narrative followed him from Mexico to Chicago. Another road course. Another chance to prove them wrong.
Shane van Gisbergen schools young Connor Zilisch
At Chicago this Saturday, Shane van Gisbergen made it loud and clear. Despite the critics, despite Petty’s words, despite the doubters in the garage, SVG showed once again that the streets belong to him. He didn’t just win in Chicago; he took down JR Motorsports’ young sensation, Connor Zilisch, in a wild finish, and in doing so, he broke a massive NASCAR record. Is the weekend sweep beckoning?
The Xfinity Series race at the Chicago Street Course wasn’t clean. Early wrecks shuffled the deck. The circuit was brutal, and mistakes were everywhere. But SVG, as always, kept his cool on the streets. He started on the pole and led early. Then strategy pulled him back, deep into the pack. But with fresher tires and few cautions, he clawed his way back. Finally, a late wreck by Andre Castro triggered a yellow that changed everything. Notably, Connor Zilisch was leading SVG by more than two seconds when Castro spun.
On the final restart, SVG lined up beside his JR Motorsports teammate. With two laps left, it was a straight fight to the flag. Zilisch led them to green. But SVG didn’t wait. Into Turn 1, he made his move. He dove to the inside, got a nose ahead, and didn’t back down. Zilisch had to lift. He brushed the wall on the exit. From there, SVG was gone. The youngster tried to come back, but the Kiwi was flawless through Turn 2. Zilisch held off the rest of the pack, but he couldn’t touch SVG.
The finish wasn’t just clean, it was cold, calculated, and brutal. Shane van Gisbergen took his second straight Xfinity win at Chicago. And it came at the cost of one of JRM’s brightest stars. After the race, SVG reflected on the madness of it all. “Unreal. I thought it was going to be a lost cause when the strategy went wrong. It worked out well,” he said. Notably, he’d won Stage 1, then dropped back when others pitted early. It looked like a bad call, but it gave him the grip and fuel he needed late. “We had tire grip at the end. Really cool battles there with everyone. I enjoyed it.”
THE WEATHERTECH/RED BULL MACHINE DELIVERS JRM’S 97TH WIN IN THE XFINITY SERIES pic.twitter.com/CwFbdOxTDT
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) July 5, 2025
Meanwhile, Connor Zilisch handled the defeat with grace. But the sting was obvious. “I should have just not let him get to my bottom. I was clear there. Just barely. I let him get to my inside and he took advantage of it,” he said. He admitted he expected more room. “I just thought he was going to race me a little cleaner. It’s racing for the win. I’m not going to complain about it. He won the race and I didn’t,” the JRM driver added. Notably, Zilisch led the field to green and was strong all day, even after damage, but SVG proved just a little better in the clutch.
Meanwhile, SVG’s win wasn’t just another stat. It was history. With this victory, Shane van Gisbergen delivered JR Motorsports its 97th Xfinity Series win. That also makes him the sixth different JRM driver to win in 2025, a new single-season record for a team in NASCAR history. No other year had seen this kind of spread across any lineup. He also joins Daniel Suarez in the list of this year’s Xfinity road/street winners.
The Kiwi now has three career wins at Chicago, two in Xfinity, and one in Cup, and all in successive years. But this one may be the most satisfying, as he started the weekend by sweeping pole positions in both series. SVG clocked 89.656 seconds to take the Cup pole ahead of top-tier talents like McDowell, Hocevar, Reddick, and Briscoe. After a shaky practice, he and the Trackhouse team nailed qualifying when it mattered most.
Now, he’s staring at a chance to do something few thought possible: sweep the weekend. If he wins Sunday’s Grant Park 165, SVG will cement himself as the street course king. “I would love to,” he said. “I’ve got some great cars this weekend. I really look forward to tomorrow.” With that momentum and his pole start, the odds are with him. Chicago might just belong to Shane van Gisbergen forever.
Chaos hits Windy City!
Apart from Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch, Sheldon Creed emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the day. He finished third after a strong performance that included a Stage 2 win. Creed avoided taking unnecessary risks in the closing laps, choosing points over potential disaster. “No point in wrecking for a win that wasn’t there,” he said after the race. That smart approach paid off, moving him back into the heart of the playoff hunt.
Just behind him, Austin Hill ran a clean race too, and secured fourth. Nick Sanchez rounded out the top five with one of his best drives of the season on a street course, delivering a quietly impressive run that kept him in contention all day. Behind them, Jesse Love continued his steady rookie campaign with a sixth-place finish. However, the biggest heartbreak came for Jack Perkins and Taylor Gray.
Perkins spun just five laps in and backed his car into the Turn 6 wall, ending his NASCAR debut early in 34th place. Gray’s day unraveled after he got caught up in a chain-reaction crash during the final stage. The race was marked by heavy cautions, but the closing showdown between SVG and Zilisch delivered the fireworks.
Now, all of us wait with bated breath to see if SVG can do a road course sweep and create NASCAR history once again. Do you think he can do it? Let us know in the comments!
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