Making his third and closing deliberate Cup look of the season in a Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang after taking within the Circuit of the Americas rounds and the Chicago highway course, Button began thirty first within the 39-car area and endured an eventful race to complete a lap down on winner Michael McDowell.
The Briton admitted to creating errors after having to serve a pitlane rushing penalty and one other for overshooting the primary nook whereas chasing Kevin Harvick. He additionally misplaced time being rotated by Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
However regardless of the “disappointing consequence”, in setting the sixth quickest race lap Button stated his tempo was “actually good” and got here away happy together with his enchancment over the weekend.
“The tempo is there, it’s simply that I made errors at present,” stated the 15-time F1 race-winner.
“The automobile was working effectively. Yesterday was irritating simply because we didn’t have any tempo. In the present day, the blokes did a extremely good job of discovering a set-up that labored for me.
“I may brake later, so I may make numerous strikes. I can’t think about what number of automobiles I truly overtook throughout the race.
“However on the finish of the primary pitstop, I used to be rushing into the pitlane. So, I needed to do a drive-through. Kills your race – about 30 seconds in pitlane.
#15: Jenson Button, Rick Ware Racing, Mobil 1 Ford Mustang
Photograph by: Motorsport Images
“So, it units you again rather a lot, after which after I made a transfer on somebody – I believe Stenhouse Jr. – he spun me round and it price me a bit extra time. It wasn’t nice.
“Then pushing to the top to chase down Kevin, I locked up and went straight throughout the grass in Flip 1. So, needed to do a stop-and-go.
“It was messy. However, the tempo was there. It was actually good.”
He added: “Only a disappointing consequence, I loved it. A lot of overtaking, wheel-to-wheel banging as you could possibly most likely see by the automobile.”
Chicago winner Shane van Gisbergen was the perfect of the worldwide contingent on his second Cup begin, the three-time Supercars champion ending up tenth in his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet run underneath the Mission 91 banner.
The Kiwi, who is predicted to maneuver full-time to NASCAR subsequent yr after making his first oval begin in a Truck Sequence outing on Friday, admitted he’d anticipated to seek out the going harder on a everlasting venue that NASCAR has beforehand visited relative to the inaugural avenue race in Chicago.
“It’s exhausting right here as a result of everybody’s on it,” stated Van Gisbergen, who managed to steer a lap throughout one of many green-flag pitstop cycles.
Shane Van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, Improve Well being Chevrolet Camaro
Photograph by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images
“Everybody is aware of the monitor and there’s much more room for error. Everybody’s racing aggressively.
“A lot enjoyable to be again, hopefully, can do extra.”
In a race that matched the document for many nations represented in a single Cup race (seven), van Gisbergen’s Supercars rival and present sequence factors chief Brodie Kostecki certified eleventh, however the Australian needed to begin from the again of the sector after a qualifying crash. The Richard Childress Chevrolet driver steadily marched by way of the sector and completed twenty second.
Standing in for Noah Gragson at Legacy Motor Membership, 2010 Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller gained 13 positions from the beginning, ending twenty fourth in his third profession Cup begin. He too served a rushing penalty on pit highway.
Like Kostecki, Button’s former F1 sparring companion Kamui Kobayashi was additionally making his NASCAR debut and beat Button in qualifying to begin twenty eighth.
However he too had a run-in with Stenhouse, because the 2023 Daytona 500 winner barrelled into the Toyota World Endurance Championship ace at Flip 1, with the ensuing spin costing Kobayashi a number of spots as he in the end completed thirty third.
The Japanese stated he “realized rather a lot” from the expertise and was magnanimous about his conflict with Stenhouse.
“I obtained hit by somebody, however that is NASCAR,” he stated.
“However the racing within the area was nice. It’s a extremely cool championship – I had an amazing expertise right here.”