Shane van Gisbergen’s most recent victory in NASCAR’s premier series was historic and emotional. With his father, Robert, present for the first time this year, the Auckland, New Zealand-born driver set a rookie record in the Cup with his fourth victory, surpassing the competition at Watkins Glen International.
Trackhouse Racing’s driver joined 2020 champion Chase Elliott and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon as the only drivers to win four consecutive Cup races on road or street courses. Unlike his previous victories in Mexico City, Chicago, and Sonoma, van Gisbergen was unable to start from the pole position after being surpassed by Ryan Blaney. After qualifying second, van Gisbergen waited for the opportune moment and took the lead on lap 25 of the 90-lap race. He then settled into a flawless and fluid pace on the 2.45-mile road course.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 is amazing.
Shane van Gisbergen
The 36-year-old rookie made his final pit stop with 27 laps remaining and moved into first place on lap 74 of a clean race with only three caution flags. Leading the final 17 laps, van Gisbergen beat Christopher Bell by 11.116 seconds.I’m a very lucky guy to be able to drive for an incredible group of people and just execute. The day was perfect.
Shane van Gisbergen
With five wins in just 38 races in NASCAR’s premier series, van Gisbergen is only behind Elliott (seven wins) and Kyle Larson (six) among active drivers on street or road courses. He is also the fastest to reach five Cup wins since the legendary Dan Gurney, who won his fifth race in his thirteenth start in January 1968. The victory validated Trackhouse’s decision to sign van Gisbergen to a multi-year contract extension 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 tracks, where the inexperienced van Gisbergen, who competed exclusively on road and street circuits while winning three championships in the Australian-based Supercars, has an average finishing position 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’ll really try.I’m excited because we’ve been struggling a bit. Trying to run the races has been difficult for us, so it’s really incredible to have a good day. Frustrated to be defeated by van Gisbergen. He’s doing a really good job.
Christopher Bell
Playoff Expectations
Chris Buescher, who finished third, improved to 34 points ahead of his Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing teammate, Ryan Preece, in the fight for the last playoff spot. Buescher overtook van Gisbergen on the final lap to win at Watkins Glen last year. His team adapted their strategy on Sunday to accumulate stage points instead of following the win-oriented strategy used by van Gisbergen.Last year, we didn’t have to deal with the points thing, so we brought a fast race car and made it happen. We had a really fast race car again, we just took the opportunity to capitalize on some big stage points early.
Chris Buescher
Frustrating Race for Gibbs
It was another frustrating race for Ty Gibbs, who spun John Hunter Nemechek at the end of Stage 2 and then complained about the handling and strategy of his No. 54 Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing’s competition director, Chris Gabehart, who recently began working as a strategist and consultant for Gibbs’ team, told the driver on the radio to “stay in the game” after the accident with Nemechek and then questioned his team’s strategy.Gibbs, grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, finished in 33rd place and is still winless since moving to the Cup after winning the 2022 Xfinity Series championship. His teammates Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, and Bell have qualified for the playoffs with wins this season.I’m sure you have a very good understanding from inside the car. So you can decide the strategy if you want, or we can keep rolling.
Chris Gabehart
