Van Gisbergen Sets Record: Historic Fourth Victory in NASCAR!

Van Gisbergen Makes History with Emotional Watkins Glen Victory

Shane van Gisbergen’s latest victory in NASCAR’s premier series was as historic as it was emotional. The New Zealand driver, with his father present for the first time this year, set a record for a rookie in the Cup, achieving his fourth victory and outperforming the competition at Watkins Glen International.

It’s incredible to have him here. It’s been a very tough year for dad, and he hasn’t been able to travel, so having him here for the next three weeks and sharing this with him, it’s incredible.

Shane van Gisbergen

Trackhouse Racing’s driver joins Chase Elliott and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon as the only drivers to win four consecutive races on road or street circuits. Unlike his previous victories in Mexico City, Chicago, and Sonoma, van Gisbergen was unable to start from the pole position, qualifying second. However, he knew how to wait for the right moment and took the lead on lap 25 of a 90-lap race, setting an impeccable pace on the 2.45-mile circuit.

Van Gisbergen, 36, made his final pit stop with 27 laps to go and held the lead for the final 17 laps, beating Christopher Bell by more than 11 seconds.

I’m thrilled because we’ve been struggling a bit. It’s really incredible to have a good day. Frustrated to be outdone by van Gisbergen. He’s doing a very good job.

Christopher Bell

With five wins in just 38 races in NASCAR’s premier series, van Gisbergen is only surpassed by Elliott and Kyle Larson among active road course drivers. Furthermore, he is the fastest to reach five Cup wins since the legendary Dan Gurney. The victory validates Trackhouse’s decision to extend van Gisbergen’s contract last week. Tied with Denny Hamlin for wins in the series, van Gisbergen is second in the playoffs with two races remaining in the regular season. The first round will take place on three oval circuits, where the inexperienced van Gisbergen, who raced exclusively on road and street circuits while winning three championships in Supercars, has an average of 26.9 this year.

It’s not going to be easy, that’s for sure. The first round, there are some very difficult clues for me, but I’m improving and having fun, and it’s a challenge. That’s why we’re here, and we’re going to give it a good shot.

Shane van Gisbergen

Playoffs on the Horizon

Chris Buescher, who finished third, increased his lead to 34 points over Ryan Preece in the fight for the last playoff spot. Buescher overtook van Gisbergen on the last lap to win at Watkins Glen last year. It was another frustrating race for Ty Gibbs, who had an incident with John Hunter Nemechek. Gibbs finished in 33rd place and is still winless since moving to the Cup Series after winning the 2022 Xfinity Series championship.

Next Stop: Richmond

The Cup Series will race on Saturday at Richmond Raceway, which will host its only NASCAR race weekend this season.