Van Gisbergen Unstoppable: Historic Fourth NASCAR Victory!

Shane van Gisbergen Makes History at Watkins Glen

Shane van Gisbergen’s most recent victory in NASCAR’s premier series was as historic as it was emotional. With his father, Robert, present for the first time this year, the Auckland, New Zealand driver set a rookie record in the Cup with his fourth victory, widely surpassing 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 is amazing.

Shane van Gisbergen

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 overtaken by Ryan Blaney. After qualifying second, van Gisbergen waited for his moment and took the lead for the first time on lap 25 of the 90-lap race. He then settled into a typically flawless and smooth pace on the 2.45-mile road course.

The 36-year-old rookie made his final pit stop with 27 laps remaining and entered in first place on lap 74 of a clean race with only three yellow flags. With a large lead while leading the final 17 laps, van Gisbergen beat Christopher Bell by 11.116 seconds. 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. The victory validated Trackhouse’s decision to sign a multi-year contract extension with van Gisbergen last week. Tied with Denny Hamlin in the win series, van Gisbergen is ranked number 2 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 raced exclusively on road and street circuits while winning three championships in the Australian-based 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 left-hand 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.

Shane van Gisbergen

In the fight for the playoffs

Chris Buescher, who finished third, improved to 34 points ahead of his Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing teammate, Ryan Preece, in the battle for the last playoff spot. Buescher overtook van Gisbergen on the last 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 side, so we brought a fast race car and made it happen. We had a very fast race car again, we just took the opportunity to capitalize on some big stage points early on.

Chris Buescher

Frustrated 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 over the radio to “stay in the game” after Nemechek’s accident and then questioned his team’s strategy. Gibbs, the 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. Teammates Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, and Bell have qualified for the playoffs with wins this season.

Next stop

The NASCAR Cup will race on Saturday at Richmond Raceway, which will host its only NASCAR race weekend this season. The 0.75-mile oval had two annual races on the Cup schedule from 1959 to 2024.