“I’ll do that better next time”: Shane van Gisbergen promises better future victory celebrations after Portland Xfinity win

Shane van Gisbergen has outlined his triumph at the Portland Automation 147 dash hosted by the Portland International Raceway. The Kaulig Racing driver produced a stellar performance to win his first Xfinity Series race.

The New Zealander entered the NASCAR scene last year at the 2023 Chicago Street race and stunned the community with a victory on his debut Cup Series event. After reigning supreme on the street circuit, van Gisbergen has showcased his prowess on another road course circuit in the Pacific Northwest.

The #97 Chevy driver qualified second fastest and clocked the top speed of 96.596 mph. As the pack of 38 cars sprinted toward turn 1, polesitter Sam Mayer's #1 Chevrolet spun out after wrecking the left front of Shane van Gisbergen's high-octane ride.

With that, Riley Herbst's #98 Ford was put into the lead while Gisbergen stooped down to third place. Moreover, the Kaulig Racing driver succumbed to tire issues and went slightly off track which cost him precious seconds and his track position.

Despite losing out on potential Stage 1 and 2 victories, Shane van Gisbergen climbed the charts during the final stage, bringing his #97 Chevrolet back among the contenders. With just eight laps to go until the checkered flag dropped, a massive pileup ensued and the race restarted.

The final restart saw Shane van Gisbergen battling neck-to-neck with Justin Allgaier before the former finally took the lead and came home with his second NASCAR victory. The New Zealander savored his maiden Xfinity win by doing a rugby punt kick with a ball after signing it.

The #97 driver weighed on his triumph and outlined a "better" celebration in the next race:

"What a day. It was really cool, had some great racing. I need to get better at my restarts, learn how to position but I had so much fun really," Shane van Gisbergen told Fox Reporter Josh Sims via X. (0.40)

The New Zealander then emphasized the need to tune his car for a better celebration the next time.

"I just do whatever comes to mind," SVG said about his way of cherishing victory. "Probably need to tune the steering, I got spun out so I’ll do that better next time," the race winner added.

"We're expected to win at the road courses"- Kaulig Racing president weighs on his team's success after Shane van Gisbergen's win

The 75-lap dash at the Portland International Raceway turned out to be a massively successful outing for Kaulig Racing. Shane van Gisbergen bagged his team's maiden win of the season, while A.J. Allmendinger finished fourth and Josh Williams came home with his season-best result in P7.

Before stepping into NASCAR, Van Gisbergen clinched the Supercars championship three times and carved his niche as a dominant road course racer. Moreover, the New Zealander depicted his prowess during his debut run in Chicago, where he qualified third fastest and claimed the victory, dethroning top drivers like Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and many more from the battle.

After the Kaulig Racing trio churned out a satisfactory result after a long hiatus, team president Chris Rice highlighted his driver's prowess.

"We're expected to win at the road courses and we didn't dominate today. That's the key, right, you got to dominate, we didn't dominate and we got to figure it out. We got a week to get to Sonoma [Raceway]," Price said via Frontstretch on X. (0.55)

With his Xfinity Series win, Shane van Gisbergen has gained one place in the standings and is placed 14th.