SVG Sweeps the Streets: Shane van Gisbergen Makes NASCAR History in Chicago

By Steve Monday | RCW Sports | July 7, 2025

Shane van Gisbergen proved once again that the streets of Chicago belong to him.

In a rare and remarkable weekend sweep, the New Zealand native won both the NASCAR Xfinity Series race and Sunday’s Grant Park 165 NASCAR Cup Series event on the Chicago Street Course—both from the pole. In doing so, Van Gisbergen became just the second driver in NASCAR history to sweep both top-tier events from the pole in the same weekend, matching a feat only previously accomplished by Kyle Busch at Indianapolis in 2016.

SVG’s Cup Series victory—his second in Chicago in as many years—came in dramatic fashion as he crossed the finish line under caution. Cody Ware’s late-race crash in Turn 6 brought out the yellow just as Van Gisbergen started the final lap. Had the caution come seconds earlier, the race could have extended into overtime, but SVG reached the line in time and sealed the win.

“What an amazing weekend for me,” Van Gisbergen said. “Lucky guy to drive some great cars. I thank Trackhouse, WeatherTech Chevy and all these guys and girls here—what an amazing weekend.”

Van Gisbergen drove the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity win on Saturday and followed it up with Sunday’s Cup victory in the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing entry. The win was SVG’s second Cup victory of the season and third of his career.

The Race in Review

Michael McDowell dominated early, leading the first 31 laps, but mechanical issues with a stuck throttle knocked him out of contention. From there, the lead shuffled among several drivers, including Ryan Blaney, AJ Allmendinger, and Chase Briscoe.

SVG took the lead for good on Lap 60, executing a bold inside pass on Briscoe into Turn 2 and holding off Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick through a pair of late restarts.

Gibbs, who equaled his best Cup finish in second, lamented the disadvantage of starting on the outside during restarts.

“The dude on the outside gets shafted every single time,” Gibbs said. “He just got a good enough gap, had a good restart… and got away from me.”

Reddick, who surged from 15th to third in the final laps on fresh tires, called the finish bittersweet.

“It’s great to finish third, but it’s for sure a bummer when you look at how much ground you made up,” Reddick said.

Street Course Chaos

The tight and twisting layout of the 2.2-mile Chicago circuit led to several incidents, including a massive eight-car pileup on Lap 3. Carson Hocevar triggered the wreck by hitting the inside wall in Turn 10 and careening into the outside barrier. Among those collected were Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, and Todd Gilliland.

“It’s just a narrow street course, and sometimes there’s nowhere to go,” Keselowski said after being caught in the chaos.

McDowell, Wallace, Stenhouse Jr., and others also failed to finish the race, which saw seven cautions and over 14 minutes of red flag delay.

In-Season Challenge Update

SVG’s win overshadowed the ongoing NASCAR In-Season Tournament battles, but results from Chicago decided several key matchups:

• Ty Dillon (32nd seed) upset Brad Keselowski by default and will face Alex Bowman in the Round of 8 at Sonoma.

• John Hunter Nemechek knocked out Chase Elliott and will face Erik Jones.

• Ryan Preece eliminated Noah Gragson and moves on to face Tyler Reddick, who ousted Hocevar.

• Ty Gibbs edged AJ Allmendinger and will race Zane Smith next.

Series leader William Byron, who entered the race with a 21-point advantage, suffered a clutch failure on Lap 1 and finished last, trimming his points lead to just 13 over Elliott.

Race Results: Grant Park 165 – Top 10

1. Shane van Gisbergen (Chevrolet)

2. Ty Gibbs (Toyota)

3. Tyler Reddick (Toyota)

4. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)

5. Kyle Busch (Chevrolet)

6. AJ Allmendinger (Chevrolet)

7. Ryan Preece (Ford)

8. Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)

9. Austin Hill (Chevrolet, Xfinity regular)

10. Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)

Looking Ahead

Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series: Sonoma Raceway, where in-season challenge matchups continue and drivers face another twist-heavy road course. But after this weekend, all eyes remain on Van Gisbergen—who is quickly rewriting the record books one street at a time.

RCW Sports will continue coverage with a full preview of Sonoma later this week.