Shane van Gisbergen wins again in NASCAR Xfinity Series race in downtown Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) — When it comes to oval tracks, Shane van Gisbergen is a work in progress.

When it comes to the streets of Chicago — or any road course, really — van Gisbergen is one of NASCAR's best drivers.

The 35-year-old New Zealand native proved it again Saturday, pulling away from Ty Gibbs for his third Xfinity Series victory of the season.

Van Gisbergen started on the pole before dropping back after a pit stop. He then made his way through the field before moving in front following a late restart. He led four times for a total of 14 laps.

“It was a bit frustrating all the yellows coming out,” he said. “But managed to make spots every restart and keep moving forward. Had some awesome battles coming through.”

Van Gisbergen got his first two Xfinity wins for Kaulig Racing on road courses at Portland and Sonoma on consecutive weekends last month. Just like he did after those victories, he celebrated by autographing a rugby ball and kicking it into the stands in Chicago.

Gibbs was second, followed by Kyle Larson, Parker Kligerman and rookie Jesse Love.

“Just needed to be a little bit better, a little tighter,” Gibbs said. “I felt like we were pretty solid all day.”

Larson and van Gisbergen dueled throughout the first stage in a possible preview for Sunday. Larson is on the pole for the Cup Series race.

“I was having a blast,” Larson said. “I felt like, you know, obviously. I wanted to win today, but I wanted to learn more than anything. And I wanted to get to battle with him because he’s just really good at creating shapes and angles and passing.”

A three-time champion in Australia’s Supercars, van Gisbergen was a largely unknown commodity in the U.S. before he won last summer in NASCAR's rainy inaugural weekend on the downtown Chicago course. He became the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.

This time around, he has been closely watched every time he gets into his car — and he seems to be dealing just fine with the increased attention.

“Obviously, everyone's had expectations, but I think I've just been treating it like every other week,” he said. "As I said yesterday when I was in here, I'm more focused on the ovals at the moment and these things are kind of a holiday or a fun weekend.

“I still studied hard for this and wanted to be good at it. Yeah, go right out, and just did my thing.”

Love led for 14 laps in a bid for a second Xfinity Series win for his impressive rookie season. But he was unable to hold on at the end.

The 19-year-old Love won at Talladega in April in his ninth start for Richard Childress Racing. He was in a prime position at Atlanta in February before running out of gas.

The Xfinity Series goes to Pocono Raceway next weekend.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Drivers navigate Turn 19 during a NASCAR Xfinity Series street course auto race in Grant Park in Chicago, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Fans watch as vehicles drive along Turn 19 during a NASCAR Xfinity Series street course auto race in Grant Park in Chicago, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Fans watch as vehicles drive along Turn 19 during a NASCAR Xfinity Series street course auto race in Grant Park in Chicago, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Cars navigate turn 19 during a NASCAR Xfinity Series street course auto race in Grant Park, Saturday, July 6, 202 4 in Chicago. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Cars navigate turn 19 during a NASCAR Xfinity Series street course auto race in Grant Park, Saturday, July 6, 202 4 in Chicago. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump plans to return Saturday to the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, setting aside what are now near-constant worries for his physical safety in order to fulfill a promise — “really an obligation,” he said recently — to the people of Butler, Pennsylvania.

“I'll probably start off by saying, ‘As I was saying ...’” the Republican presidential nominee has joked, in a bit of black humor about a speech cut short when a bullet struck Trump's ear and he was whisked off stage — fist aloft — with blood dripping across his face.

Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, also will be on hand at the Butler Farm Show grounds, as will billionaire Elon Musk, as the campaign elevates the headline-generating potential of his return with just 30 days to go in their tight campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

The campaign is predicting tens of thousands of people will attend what is being pitched as a "tribute to the American spirit.” Local hotels, motels and inns are reportedly full and some eager rallygoers were already arriving Friday, according to a local Facebook page.

“President Trump looks forward to returning to Butler, Pennsylvania to honor the victims from that tragic day," said Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt. "The willingness of Pennsylvanians to join President Trump in his return to Butler represents the strength and resiliency of the American people.”

Trump will use the 5 p.m. Eastern time event to remember Corey Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter struck and killed at the July 13 rally, and to recognize the two other rallygoers injured, David Dutch and James Copenhaver. They and Trump were struck when 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire from an unsecured rooftop nearby before he was fatally shot by sharpshooters.

How Crooks managed to outmaneuver law enforcement that day and scramble on top of a building within easy shooting distance of the ex-president is among myriad questions that remain unanswered about the worst Secret Service security failure in decades. Another is his motive, which has never been determined.

Butler County District Attorney Rich Goldinger told WPXI-TV this week that “everyone is doubling down on their efforts to make sure this is done safely and correctly.”

Mike Slupe, the county sheriff, told the station he estimates the Secret Service — which has undergone a painful reckoning over its handling of two attempts on Trump’s life — is deploying ”quadruple the assets” it did in July.

Butler County, on the western edge of a coveted presidential swing state, is a Trump stronghold. He won the county — where turnout hovers around an impressive 80% — with about 66% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. About 57% of Butler County’s 139,000 registered voters are Republicans, compared with about 29% who are Democrats and 14% something else.

Three months later, townspeople are divided over the value of his return. Heidi Priest, a Butler resident who started a Facebook group supporting Harris, said Trump's last visit fanned political tensions in the city.

“Whenever you see people supporting him and getting excited about him being here, it scares the people who don’t want to see him reelected,” she said.

But Trump needs to drive up voter turnout in conservative strongholds like Butler County, an overwhelmingly white, rural-suburban community, if he wants to win Pennsylvania in November. Harris, too, has targeted her campaign efforts at Pennsylvania, rallying there repeatedly as part of her aggressive outreach in critical swing states.

The campaign rally site is seen near sunrise before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Jacob Tampa does pushups to try and warm up as people arrive and wait in line before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Dan Beasley of Northville, Mich., prays with Sue Hensal of Akron, Ohio, before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A memorial for firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died as he shielded family members from gunfire, is seen in the bleachers before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The campaign rally site is seen near sunrise before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Bleachers are set up ahead of a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Bleachers are set up ahead of a campaign event for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A statue of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump is set up on a truck ahead of a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump reacts following an assassination attempt at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

A statue of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump is set up on a truck ahead of a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)