In one of the most surprising motorsports outcomes in recent memory, New Zealand’s Shane van Gisbergen showed up in Chicago this weekend, climbed into a stock car for his first ever NASCAR race, and won the whole damn thing. It was incredible. If you didn’t watch the race, here’s what you missed:

To put this into context, the last time that a driver was able to climb into a NASCAR Cup car (the highest level of racing) and win their first race was 1963, or 60 years ago.

The drive that Shane van Gisbergen put on at Chicago was seemingly miraculous if you had no idea who Shane was or how he got there. Even many of the NASCAR drivers were surprised and impressed by what happened. Here, listen to Kyle Larson talk about what it was like trying to keep up with Shane:

“It was so fun to watch from my view,” said Larson, the 2021 Sprint Cup Champion, who sounds here more like a fan than a competitor. “He put on a show and it was cool to see. When a guy like that can come in, and kick your ass at your own game it shows that we all have room to improve,” said Larson. I’m curious what he thinks about us, he obviously passed a lot of us. I’m curious if he thinks we suck, or if he thinks we can compete.”

“He made me look bad,” Chase Elliot admitted. This is true. I was there watching SvG qualify on Saturday in the dry and Elliot clearly lined up behind the Kiwi driver to try and learn how to get the fastest lap. It didn’t work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-o40tla0l0

Why Shane Was Amazing, But Didn’t Surprise Me

Here’s a photo of Shane van Gisbergen at Le Mans last year, getting his first chance to compete at that historic track. It is, if I remember correctly, the first time he got to sit in the car, and you can see the smile on his face. I was lucky enough to get to follow him and his team before and during the race.

“He’s bad fast.” That’s how Bill Riley, one of the winningest men in sports car racing, described why he picked SvG for his team. Riley was correct. While the team didn’t win, the driver from New Zealand put down some fast laps and impressed everyone.

I’d been a fan of SvG for a while, having seen him race in V8 Supercars (Australia’s stock car racing equivalent), where he’s the reigning champion, and the Bathurst 1000.

When I was at Le Mans, I’d sort of assumed he’d be this big, boisterous driver dude who would be excited to talk to me. I was wrong. He was quiet and, uncharacteristically for a Red Bull athlete, a little camera shy. The first interview I did with him was, frankly, kinda bad. At one point I had an interview set up with him and he tried to dodge me until, finally, I found him and nervously asked me to make another driver do the interview because “I fucking hate this stuff.”

Later on a friend of his explained that it wasn’t me, he’s just like that sometimes. In spite of all that, when SvG finally decided to talk he gave one of the best answers to a question all that week.

So none of this was a surprise to me. Plus, this was NASCAR’s first street race (see Tweet below of downtown Chicago) and SvG’s V8 Supercar is basically an upside down stock car (the aero is on the top in a V8 Supercar and on the bottom in NASCAR). He has a ton of road course experience and so, frankly, this shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

NASCAR Needed This

Can we talk about this picture?!@shanevg97 turning off Michigan Ave and headed home to his first @NASCAR win. #NASCARChicago pic.twitter.com/0OqV4wIWZE

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 3, 2023

There were a lot of people rooting against this race. NASCAR fans were complaining online that the series could have gone to any number of race tracks that have been ignored lately. Chicagoans were griping about NASCAR coming to town.

On Friday and Saturday, the vibes were great. I mean, just off-the-charts positive. The NASCAR people were loving Chicago and the race. The Chicago people were surprised to find themselves loving the racing. I saw zero confederate flags, but I did see at least one “Cowboy Beebop” shirt.

Qualifying for both NASCAR series was exciting and it was clear something great was starting. Even the people who had only come for the concerts seemed curious about the racing.

And then the lightning came. And the confusion. And the rain. The track turned into a lake as the racing ground to a halt. People started complaining. This was a sign, from God, that NASCAR shouldn’t have done this. Chicago shouldn’t have done this. The vibes were bad. All day.

Finally, hesitantly, the rain abated. The track crew ferociously battled the puddles with their big jet dryers. The drivers got in their cars. No one knew what would happen, but everyone expected to run out of light before the race could be finished.

There was a risk that this could be the spoiled neon green relish highlighting the Chicago-style crapdog the weekend was becoming.

And then, like magic, a very tall and very quiet man from New Zealand walked in and kicked everyone’s ass and charmed everyone’s ass at exactly the same time. Then, suddenly, he didn’t seem so quiet: