Shane van Gisbergen became the first driver in 60 years to win on debut in the NASCAR Cup Series, taking victory in the inaugural Chicago Street Race on Sunday.
In the first ever street course race in Cup Series history, three-time V8 Supercars champion van Gisbergen took the lead from Justin Haley with five laps to go and held on to win by over one second.
Van Gisbergen was competing in Chicago largely because of Trackhouse Racing's Project 91 program. The team has fielded the #91 car in selected events since 2022, with 2007 F1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen having raced the car at Watkins Glen in 2022 and at the Circuit of the Americas in 2023.
Van Gisbergen's foray into NASCAR is the latest string to the New Zealander's ever-expanding motorsport bow. In addition to his regular drive in V8 Supercars, van Gisbergen has competed sporadically in several sports car series and the World Rally Championship in recent years.
2009 F1 World Champion Jenson Button, who had driven a modified NASCAR vehicle at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, also took part in the Chicago event, finishing 21st.
Check out the final few laps of van Gisbergen's Chicago win below!