In a stunning result, Shane van Gisbergen visited victory lane this weekend for the second consecutive race at Sonoma Raceway. The Kaulig Racing driver was seen making an aggressive move on the final restart of the race on fellow competitor Austin Hill who was also challenging for the lead during the event.
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The #97 Chevrolet Camaro driver was seen pushing Hill wide on the uphill turn 2 of the track in wine country. Seemingly harking back to their run-in at the Circuit of the Americas while battling for the lead, many believed van Gisbergen repaid the favor to the Richard Childress Racing driver.
Gisbergen and Austin Hill were seen battling hard during overtime at COTA earlier this year, with the latter using his bumper to pass the Kiwi driver for the lead. Gisbergen returned the favor as both drivers battled for the win and sent them wide.
Kyle Larson wins the #NASCAR Xfinity Series race at COTA! pic.twitter.com/pbGcwYCDji
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 23, 2024
A lurking Kyle Larson managed to steal the win as both prior leaders tangled and finished in P2 and P3 respectively. While nothing much was made of the battle between SVG and Hill at the time, the former Australian Supercars driver seemed to have logged that very incident in his head.
As both competitors restarted on the front row in Sonoma, SVG was seen forcing Hill on his outside to give him space as the field climbed to turn 2 without allowing the RCR driver an opportunity to squeeze or pass him for the lead. The move solidified Gisbergen’s second consecutive victory in NASCAR’s second-tier nationwide series.
What did Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Hill think of their run-in at COTA?
SVG elaborated on what was ultimately a good finish for the New Zealander at the time and said, “He just drove through me. I guess that’s how it is here. I just stood up for myself. But it was some pretty awesome racing with AJ, Kyle and at the end it just turned into a mess.”
Austin Hill also commented on his run in with the Kaulig Racing driver and elaborated, “So I hit him and as we went up the hill, there’s some bumps far left. We were both going over the bumps. I was obviously hitting him.”
He added, “And then I got off of him once we got to the corner. We took the white and getting into (turn) 15, I’m trying to protect and it felt like from my perspective, the 97 just ran through us.”
Both drivers spoke to their perspectives on how they handled each other on the track, with the aftereffects of the same seemingly trickling down to Sonoma Raceway this weekend.
