Shane van Gisbergen had an uneven NASCAR Xfinity Series debut Monday, but still managed to walk away with a P12 finish in the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.
The 34-year-old got caught up in a Stage 2 wreck, his No. 97 Chevrolet needing some repairs after. To van Gisbergen’s credit, he rebounded nicely, getting back on the lead lap after two subsequent cautions. He directly caused a caution on Lap 97, tagging the No. 27 Chevrolet piloted by Jeb Burton and sending him into a spin.
Van Gisbergen took to X early Tuesday morning to publicly apologize to Burton while offering a recap of his first ride in the Xfinity Series.
“That was another wild race! Got some good momentum going, really enjoyed the flow of it all and learnt a lot,” van Gisbergen wrote on X. “Got involved in other people’s messes but made my own mistake at the end, misjudged the side draft and spun out the 27 trying to pull into line. Sorry to him! Other than that, it was an awesome job by our @WeatherTech @TeamChevy crew to keep us in the fight, 12th after of that is pretty cool!”
Shane van Gisbergen wraps up eventful weekend at Daytona
He will certainly have better days in the Xfinity Series, though 12th isn’t a bad start by any means for the Kaulig Racing driver. Van Gisbergen, who put himself on the map after winning the Chicago Street Race in his Cup Series debut last season, signed a developmental deal with Trackhouse Racing this past September to run in select races in NASCAR’s Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series.
Kaulig Racing announced in December that he would drive the No. 97 Chevrolet full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2024 as Trackhouse Racing doesn’t have an Xfinity Series team. The three-time Supercars Championship champion also took part in the ARCA Menards Series’ Daytona ARCA 200 Friday, racing his way to a 29th place finish behind the wheel of the No. 28 Chevrolet for Pinnacle Racing Group. He logged just three laps before a multi-car wreck on Lap 4 of 100 took him out of the race for an extended period of time. He returned to the race after 25 laps.
“I didn’t last long in that race,” van Gisbergen said after the race. “It sucked. We were just learning, getting through a few [laps]. Just trying to be patient and I saw a crash up ahead and I slowed up pretty good I thought but just got slammed from behind. That sucked.”
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