“THAT’S MY GOAT”: Fans laud Shane Van Gisbergen after maiden NASCAR Xfinity win

Fans applauded Shane Van Gisbergen for winning his first-ever NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Portland on Saturday. Last year, the 34-year-old driver had won his debut Cup Series race in the Grant Park 220 in Chicago.

Shane Van Gisbergen drives the #97 Chevrolet full-time for Kaulig Racing in a partnership with Spire Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. He is also under a part-time Cup Series schedule with Kaulig Racing as the driver of the #16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. A three-time Supercar champion, Gisbergen drives part-time in the ARCA Menards racing series as well.

Congratulating the New Zealander on his victory, NASCAR on FOX posted,

"SHANE VAN GISBERGEN. Repost to congratulate SVG on his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win!"

The fans joined in, with one calling Shane Van Gisbergen the greatest of all time.

"THAT'S MY GOAT LFG," exclaimed the fan.

Another fan cheered for Gisbergen, saying,

"Way to go, SVG!"

More fans showered praise on Gisbergen and congratulated him for winning his maiden Xfinity race.

"Who would’ve thought his first Xfinity win would come at a road course I mean you couldn’t predict this stuff," said one.

"Awesome job by @shanevg97 in the @NASCAR_Xfinity series. Both during the race and the celebration! Congrats SVG!" added another.

Referring to the fact that FOX was running commercials while Shane Van Gisbergen was performing a burnout, a fan wrote,

"Why are y’all going to commercial while he’s doing burnouts around the track?!?!🙄🙄🙄"

The former Bathurst winner will next compete in the Chicago Street Race on July 7 and at Watkins Glen International on September 15.

Shane Van Gisbergen recalls his win at the Pacific Office Automation 147

The restarts throughout the 75-lap feature had Gisbergen losing several positions. Moreover, he made contact with JR Motorsports driver and pole-sitter, Sam Mayer in the first half of the race.

Apologizing to Mayer and reflecting on his restarts, Gisbergen said, as reported by AP News,

"What a day, It was really cool, had some great racing. I need to get better on my restarts and learn how to position. But I still had fun. Really, really cool racing. I love these cars, they're great!"

Gisbergen fell back to second in the field with 13 laps till the checkered flag, but a multi-car crash late in the race brought out the caution he needed to capitalize on and ace the race.

With four laps to go, the Kiwi sensation passed fellow racer Justin Allgaier, who won the first two stages of the race and led a race-high 46 laps, clinched the win with a 0.941-second margin, and took home a race-high 46 points. As a cherry on the cake, Gisbergen's victory earned him a playoff berth.

Currently, Gisbergen stands 14th on the NASCAR Xfinity Series point standings with 303 points under his belt.