Chase Elliott thinks Shane van Gisbergen made Cup Series drivers 'look bad'
Even though he tried, Chase Elliott could not deny Shane van Gisbergen at the end of the Chicago Street Race on Sunday. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion had no answer for the hard-charging SVG who worked his way up from about P18 to the lead and eventually, the win. Coming from Supercars for his first-ever Cup start – van Gisbergen put on a show.
After claiming the checkered flag on the streets of Chicago, van Gisbergen left his competitors almost speechless. He didn’t just do well in this race, he was almost perfect the entire weekend. Even when the field got flipped after Stage 2, the Kiwi found his way to the front again.
Meanwhile, Chase Elliott made the most of his opportunities. He struggled this weekend. Even in the race, he wasn’t great. However, he found himself holding off SVG for second place at one point. It didn’t last long as the race winner would go on to pass Elliott.
“But as always, the people who do a better job than others tend to find their way to the front, and you saw that today with Shane,” Elliott said after the race. “He was in a league of his own, and in my opinion, put on a really big-time clinic.
“I don’t want to speak for everybody else, but he made me look bad, and I kind of think the rest of us, too. Looking forward to going to work and trying to be better.”
With seven career wins on road courses, Chase Elliott is considered one of the best in NASCAR. However, the three-time Supercars champion had it going on the streets of Chicago. Even Chase had to acknowledge his talent.
Chase Elliott impressed by SVG in Chicago
Sometimes you just have to accept that the other guy is having a better day than you. That is true in all sports but especially in racing. There isn’t a move you can make or a play you can set up to prevent a faster driver on fresher tires from passing you on the track if they have the angle.
Chase Elliott did his best, it just wasn’t enough. Drivers like Kyle Busch tried to hold off SVG. The No. 91 Trackhouse Racing driver was just excellent. While van Gisbergen made a big push, there were others that made similar moves. He was further back, but Kyle Larson had a massive push through the field, he just came up short.
Who knows if Shane van Gisbergen would have won a 100-lap race? Given the fact he had the best car and was making insane lap times, he likely would have had a shot at it regardless. The fact he was almost in 20th place before his surge to the front, I don’t think it is wild to say he would have won over 100 laps as well.
While SVG has gotten the best of the Cup Series field for now, it isn’t like he’s beaten them on an oval. NASCAR is very new to the street race game. Road-course racing has started to get very competitive in NASCAR lately. Let’s see if SVG makes his way to the Cup Series full-time in 2025 or not. Then we can decide if he makes these drivers “look bad” like Elliott said.