Coming into this past weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago street course, few people gave 80 time Australian V8 Supercars winner Shane van Gisbergen any chance at competing for the win. The 34 year-old New Zealander was about to make his very first start in any NASCAR series in Trackhouse Racing’s number 91 car, an entry that the team has devoted to showcasing international talents such as Gisbergen. Previously, the car had been driven by former F1 world champion Kimi Raikonen, who performed admirably in his two starts at Watkins Glen and Circuit Of The Americas. And for the cup series’s first ever race on a street course, Trackhouse co-owner Justin Marks brought in Gisbergen, who is arguably one of the best street course racers in the world.

Despite this, most NASCAR fans didn’t think he would be vying for the victory in the closing laps. Some didn’t even know who Gisbergen was to begin with. The general consensus seemed to be that he would run competitively, make some good passes, and probably wind up with a top 10 when all would be said and done. Considering he had never set foot in a NASCAR vehicle of any kind before getting his seat fitted for the race, it wasn’t unreasonable to think that the three time V8 Supercars champion couldn’t immediately beat the Cup Series regulars at their own game.

But from the very start of the weekend, Shane van Gisbergen proved that he was as much on the pace as anyone. In fact, in practice, he set the pace, recording a 1:29.419 second lap, which was three tenths quicker than the next best driver in Denny Hamlin. Right out the gates, Gisbergen set his foot down, and showed the NASCAR world that he was a force to be reckoned with. However, practice results are one thing; qualifying results are another. Gisbergen’s speed was impressive, but surely the NASCAR guys would quickly catch up to him, right?

Well, Denny Hamlin did beat Gisbergen in qualifying, as did Tyler Reddick. But the New Zealand driver still managed to put in a lap good enough for third overall, and for a while it looked like it was going to be good enough for pole. It took last-lap heroics from Hamlin and Reddick to nab the top starting spot away from the new-comer, but Gisbergen’s pace in qualifying definitely began to turn some heads. In a race where track position looked to be key, he was starting about as close to the front as you can get. All of a sudden, Shane van Gisbergen’s name began circulating as a potential upset winner.

When Sunday arrived, so did the rain, as a record-breaking downpour hit the city of Chicago during the morning and into the early afternoon. For some time, it looked like the race would not even go ahead that day as planned, and would have to be moved to Monday. Thankfully for NASCAR, the rain eventually let up, they got the track dried off sufficiently, and they sent their competitors out to do battle on a damp, treacherous street course. Most drivers in the field had little to no experience running in these conditions; Shane van Gisbergen, however, is a champion of wet weather racing, so he was surely glad to see the race kick off on a wet track.

New Zealand’s Supercars champion stuck right with the leaders for most of the race, never actually grabbing the top spot but always staying within striking distance. His pace was incredible; it looked like he has been wheeling NASCAR stock cars his entire life. He also seemed to be one of the few drivers who could pull off passes in the damp conditions, which helped him move up the order and capitalize on others' mistakes. This skill wound up paying dividends later on after he was shuffled to the back half of the top twenty due to a pit strategy that didn’t pay off. Essentially, NASCAR had to shorten the race distance from 100 to 75 laps at around lap 46 of the race due to impending darkness. This meant that all the cars at the front of the field had to make a pit stop to make it to the new end of the event, while others who had just stopped a few laps prior cycled to the lead. Unfortunately for Shane van Gisbergen, he now found himself midpack, and with a lot of ground to make up. If he was going to contend for the win, it was going to take a heroic drive.

And Gisbergen delivered nothing less than a performance for the ages. While other early contenders such Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell found themselves stuck in traffic with nowhere to go, Gisbergen made passing look easy. He flew through the pack, picking off experienced NASCAR drivers and former road-course winners like it was nothing. Simply put, Shane van Gisbergen WAS the show in the closing laps of the Chicago street race. And sure enough, when he got up to second place, he made quick work of leader Justin Haley to take control at the front.

Not even a late caution and overtime restart could deny the New Zealander, as he drove away to take the checkered flag in his first ever start, a feat that the Cup Series had not seen in sixty years since Johnny Rutherford did it at Daytona in 1963. In the modern age of NASCAR, someone stepping into the series and dominating right from the get go is almost unheard of. Most people thought that we would never see another first-race winner again. But Shane van Gisbergen proved those people wrong.

What Gisbergen accomplished this past weekend in Chicago cannot be underestimated. Joining a series with some of the most talented racers in the world and immediately outdriving them in a car they have so much experience with is ridiculously impressive. It almost always requires a steep learning curve before a champion of one motorsport becomes comfortable in another. Sometimes, a great driver comes along and gets the hang of things in their first season. But to go out and win in your first race? That’s legendary. And Shane van Gisbergen was nothing short of legendary in his first NASCAR start. Regardless of what the future in stock car racing holds for the 34 year old, he has already accomplished a feat that we thought would happen, and may very well never happen again.