Van Gisbergen leaps forward as Hamlin wins again
Shane van Gisbergen is boosted by a positive NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington where Denny Hamlin went back to back.
Van Gisbergen rose from 36th to 20th in the Goodyear 400, which is a vital result for the Trackhouse Racing Kiwi.
It was just his second top 20 result of his rookie campaign and importantly ended a baren four-race run of finishing 31st or below.
The result was not just a breakthrough for van Gisbergen, but also a step in the right direction of understanding the Camaro, believing tyre management was a key ingredient.
The #88 Camaro made a strong start, rising 11 spots to 25th in the opening stage, where he was lucky to avoid a reversing Ryan Blaney in the lane, but started the third and final leg in 30th after “losing the handling of the car.”
He made his final stop with 58 laps to go and rejoined 22nd and held firm to secure 20th ahead of Bubba Wallace.
Van Gisbergen is relieved to get a strong result and especially to recover from the Stage 2 battles.
“The day started quite good for the No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet team. We were moving forward,” van Gisbergen said.
“We learned a lot and it was quite fun. And then in the middle of the race, we really lost the handling on the car.
“We struggled to get that back and get it to my liking, which was a shame. It’s been a trend we’ve been having the last few weeks, so I need to understand what I’m doing and we also need to understand on the car side what we can do better.
Denny Hamlin won running a Carl Edwards Throwback livery.
“At the end, I felt like the long runs were really good. I found myself being able to manage the tires well.
“To get a top-20 after the runs we’ve been having is a great starting point, and now we just need to try and build some momentum.”
Up front Hamlin went back to back for the first time since 2012 by nailing the Overtime restart.
The grandstand finish was set up by a Kyle Larson spin where the field on old tyres dived into the pits for new rubber.
This is where the Joe Gibbs Racing crew came into their own and released Hamlin ahead of Will Byron in the race on pit road.
The #11 then kept the pack at bay with relative ease in the green-white-checkered run home.
“There’s two people I really love right now: my pit crew and Kyle Larson,” the 44-year-old Virginian Hamlin said with a grin. “Had a little assist there, so thank you.
“The pit crew just did an amazing job. They won it last week [at Martinsville]. They won it this week. It’s all about them.”
For Byron it was a tough blow to finish second best with the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro leading 243 of the 297 laps.
“It stings to be this close, but at the same time, I’m really proud of that effort by the whole team,” he said.
“It shows what we’re really made of, and hopefully there’s a lot more of that to come.”
I felt like we were in position to have a perfect race there. That would have been pretty damn impressive. It sucks, but nobody is at fault.
“Those guys could be aggressive on the other side of us and it was turning into a big strategy play. We just couldn’t keep control.”
NASCAR heads to Bristol for the Food City 500 at 5.00 AEST on Monday, April 14.
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