Shane van Gisbergen proved once again why he’s the king of the streets in Chicago, delivering a commanding performance in Sunday’s Grant Park 165 to complete a rare NASCAR sweep. The New Zealander won both the Xfinity and Cup Series races from pole position — a feat last matched by Kyle Busch at Indianapolis in 2016.
The Trackhouse Racing driver took the checkered flag under caution following Cody Ware’s crash into the Turn 6 tire barrier with just over one lap to go. Van Gisbergen had just taken Turn 12 when the yellow flew, locking in his second Cup Series win of 2025 and third of his career.
“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. Thanks everyone for coming out, and hope we put on a good show.”
He admitted he was on edge as the race neared its conclusion: “The strategy was a bit all over the place, as we knew it would be today, racing the weather, racing cars and different (pit) stops,” he said. “Stephen [Doran, crew chief] did a really good job on the box all day of just painting the picture in my head of who I was up against. We had two great pit stops. Just so stoked to get WeatherTech in Victory Lane for their home race.”
Ty Gibbs, who matched his best-ever Cup Series finish in second, lamented the final restart. “It really depends on the restart zone, because it’s right in that last corner, and the dude on the outside gets shafted every single time,” he explained. “If you watch every one of them, the inside guy wins almost every time. He just got a good enough gap, had a good restart. I had a little bit of rear tire degradation that didn’t really help me on my launch off the corner. [He] just got a good gap and got away from me.”
Tyler Reddick charged from 15th to third over the final nine laps but ran out of time. “We kind of ended up in a tough spot there on the penultimate restart, I guess,” he said. “Some of the cars were spinning — I can’t name them all, but unfortunately we kind of just got stuck in the wrong lane where I had to check up. I got behind those cars that we were on the same tire strategy as us, so we just lost a bit of time there passing those cars back. It’s great to finish third, but it’s for sure a bummer when you look at how much ground you made up.”
The day was mostly dry, unlike previous years, although clouds loomed late. Van Gisbergen praised the course but didn’t shy away from its challenges. “Turn 1 and Turn 5 face each other, so you can’t have runoff,” he said. “It’s dangerous. You’re in the fastest part of the track, and there’s a concrete wall in front of you, and it’s great. It’s so much risk versus reward. I think it’s one of the coolest things, but it’s difficult when you get it wrong. I think for a street track, [NASCAR has] done very well for their first go of it.”
He also reflected on how far he’s come since his breakthrough win at the same track in 2023. “It doesn’t feel like it’s been two years,” he said. “But so much has happened since then. Yeah, amazing. We had a really strong car there last year, too, and had the potential to win it again. I’m looking forward to getting back there. Obviously, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for that track. So, it’s a pretty cool and special place.”
Early in the race, Michael McDowell led 31 laps and won Stage 1 before a stuck throttle forced him to the garage, losing 22 laps. On Lap 3, a massive eight-car wreck halted the race for nearly 15 minutes after Carson Hocevar clipped a wall, bounced back into traffic, and triggered chaos.
Brad Keselowski, one of the drivers collected, said: “I didn’t see it until the last second. I slowed down, and I actually felt I was going to get stopped, and then I just kind of got ran over from behind. It’s just a narrow street course, and sometimes there’s nowhere to go.”
Elsewhere in the In-Season Challenge:
- Ty Dillon advanced after Keselowski’s DNF.
- John Hunter Nemechek eliminated Chase Elliott by finishing one spot ahead.
- Ryan Preece took out Noah Gragson.
- Gibbs beat AJ Allmendinger.
- Zane Smith eliminated Chris Buescher, who struggled with engine issues.
- William Byron suffered a mechanical issue after one lap and finished last, with his championship lead over Elliott reduced to 13 points.
Post-race inspection cleared without issue, confirming van Gisbergen as the official winner. The Cup Series now heads west to Sonoma Raceway.
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