SHANE van Gisbergen said he stood up for himself in a heated end to his first road course race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
SVG took the chequered flag second at Circuit of the Americas behind superstar Kyle Larson after a vigorous scrap with Austin Hill.
A double overtime finish saw the COTA race extended to 50 laps, and it was at the final restart that things kicked off as Hill got into the back of the #97 WeatherTech Camaro.
Van Gisbergen returned serve on the final lap, with Larson swooping to pass both cars and win the race.
Van Gisbergen was ultimately relegated to 27th due to a track limits violation, but dubbed the encounter “a lot of fun”.
What a thrilling finish in #NASCAROvertime! pic.twitter.com/VkBVddChUQ
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) March 23, 2024
“It was a crazy race, we got better and better, the WeatherTech Camaro was awesome,” he said on the broadcast, prior to the penalty being announced.
“That last restart he (Hill) just drove through me at (Turn) 1, so I just stood up for myself.
“It was some pretty awesome racing with AJ (Allmendinger), Kyle and then at the end it just turned into a mess but that’s how it is.
“It’s really fun but I wish I could have got the lead but Kyle just snuck through there. He was driving really well.”
Points leader Hill, who finished third before being elevated to second, was agitated after the race.
“The restart, I thought it was somewhat clean,” said the 29-year-old.
“It seemed like the #97 lifted super early, I’m not really sure why he lifted so early, and then he started wheel-hopping once I got into the back of him at 1.
“We cleared him and I’m trying to run as hard as I can but not overdrive the corners and thought I was doing everything right into 15 and 16, trying to protect, and ultimately just got ran over.
“It knocked his nose in so it kind of shows how hard he ran into me.”
Van Gisbergen’s COTA round is not done yet, with the Kiwi to start 12th in the Cup Series race tomorrow (Monday Australian time).
