New Zealand driver Shane van Gisbergen has been denied his best superspeedway finish in Nascar's latest race.
Van Gisbergen was running just outside the top-10 when he was caught up in a multi-car crash on the final lap at the Ambetter Health 400 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday (Monday NZ Time), eventually finishing 23rd.
LATEST HEADLINES:
The three-time Supercars champion led two laps early in the final stage, but dropped from second to 10th during a pit-stop under caution.
His best oval track finish - 12th at Martinsville last November - was also under threat as the race went into an overtime green-white-chequered flag finish, sparked by an Austin Cindric-William Byron crash with five laps remaining.
On the final lap, Josh Berry got loose and spun, with van Gisbergen one of several cars collected, sliding to the apron and grass on the infield, before regaining control and crossing the line.
Van Gisbergen was racing upfront with 60 laps to go before losing momentum and getting bumped back to 16th. He was again on the cusp of the top-10 with 20 laps to go before dropping back to 20th in half-a-lap as the field strung out into single file.
The Trackhouse Racing driver started 30th, moved up to 22nd after the first stage and 15th by the end of the second stage.
The Giz's best superspeedway finish remains 15th at Talladega last October. He finished 32nd at the Atlanta fall race last September.
Nascar's next race, the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the 20-turn Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, will play to van Gisbergen's strengths on road and street circuits. He finished 20th at COTA last March.