NASCAR News: Van Gisbergen takes the NASCAR boys to school for 4th straight

It was like taking candy from a baby once again for Shane van Gisbergen (pictured) who gave the entire NASCAR Cup Series field a proper schooling for his 4th straight road course win at Watkins Glen.

The 36-year-old New Zealander led a race-best 38 of 90 laps – including the final 17 – at the historic Watkins Glen International in picturesque upstate New York, his No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet officially crossing the finish line by 11.116-seconds ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell.

Van Gisbergen, a former Australian SuperCars Series multi-time champion, joins racing legend Dan Gurney in scoring his first five career NASCAR Cup Series victories on road courses and he did it the same weekend as his Trackhouse team announced his multi-year contract extension.

“Good to get that one back,’’ said Van Gisbergen, in a nod to finishing runner-up in this race last year. “What an awesome race. Coming back through (the field after his final pit stop) I had lot of fun.

“The car was just amazing again. Another win. Awesome.’’

“It’s the stuff you dream about right?’’ a smiling Van Gisbergen acknowledged of the important weekend. “I’m just a very lucky guy to get to drive for an amazing bunch of people and just execute. The day just went flawlessly and I really enjoyed it. Thank you everyone.’’

Van Gisbergen, in his first fulltime season at NASCAR’s elite level, has been essentially unstoppable on the road courses. His four victories on the year – also at Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma, Calif. – gives him that rookie win record and he now ties perennial championship contender Denny Hamlin for most victories in the series this year.

For all intents and purposes, when it comes to this style of racing, his competition judges itself on how close it can come to him.

“I’m thrilled [today] because we’ve been struggling a little bit to find our rhythm,’’ said Bell, who passed Chris Buescher on the final lap to claim the runner-up position. “The cars have been good. Really awesome to have a good day, but frustrated to get our butts kicked by the 88 car doing such a great job. That team has really got it going on.’’

The third-place finish for Buescher, who edged Van Gisbergen for the win at Watkins Glen in 2024, still had a good day as far as his championship chances are concerned. The driver of the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford holds onto the final Playoff position – by 34 points over RFK teammate Ryan Preece – among the 16 drivers currently eligible for the Playoff field.

Two regular season races – at Richmond, Va. and Daytona Beach – now remain.

“Had a fast race car again and definitely took the opportunity to capitalize on some stage points early,’’ said Buescher, who collected 10 important points in winning Stage 1. “Still got back into second [place] there and was making some pretty good headway but just got used up really hard getting by a couple cars to get track position and it fell off pretty hard there at the end.”

Current regular season championship leader, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron finished fourth in the No. 24 Chevrolet. That showing coupled with his teammate Chase Elliott’s 26th place finish extended Byron’s lead in the points standings to 42 over Elliott. This marks the first time this season Elliott finished outside the top-20.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe finished fifth in the No. 19 JGR Toyota, making a last-lap pass on race polesitter, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. Van Gisbergen’s teammate Daniel Suarez was seventh, followed by 23XI Racing teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick. Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain rounded out the top-10.

Thirteen drivers have automatic Playoff bids by virtue of a regular season win. Reddick, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman and Buescher round out the 16-drivers currently eligible for the Playoffs.

Preece and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch (-102 points) are just below the cutoff line. A new race winner at the Richmond short track or the Daytona Beach superspeedway, however, could drastically alter the Playoff look.

Winner Quotes

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen dominance like this in the road courses in the Cup Series, but SVG delivers again, four straight! Everybody said this would be where he had the least advantage, least technical road course, but incredible speed from this 88 team. Does Watkins Glen haunt you no more?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Good to get that one back. Thank everyone for coming out. What an awesome race. The last stint was a bit cleared out, but the battle coming back through I had a lot of fun. Thank you to WeatherTech, Trackhouse. Car was just amazing again. To get another win, and I definitely gave that Bus Stop wall another meter on that last lap, but yeah, awesome.

You lost your mom a while back, and your dad was here today. First time you’ve seen him since Christmas. Is this one a little more personal?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Oh, it’s just amazing to have him here. It’s been a very tough year for Dad. He hasn’t been able to travel, so to have him here for the next three weeks and share this with him, it’s amazing.

If I would have told you as we stood in Victory Lane at Chicago that you would be standing here four Cup Series wins on the season, a new contract in hand, would you have believed me?

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: That’s the stuff you dream about, right? I’m just a very lucky guy to get to drive for an amazing bunch of people and just execute. The day went flawlessly, and I can’t believe it. Really enjoyed it. Thanks again, everyone.

You have 22 playoff points in the bank now, which is insane to think, before it gets re-seeded as the No. 2 seed. What can this team do in the Playoffs? That could carry you into the second round where there is another road course.

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Yeah, who knows, but it ain’t going to be easy, that’s for sure. The first round there’s some very difficult left-handed tracks for me, but I’m getting better at it, and I’m enjoying myself. It’s a challenge. But that’s why we’re here, and we’ll have a proper crack.

Race Results

Average Speed of Race Winner:  101.263 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 10 Mins, 39 Secs. Margin of Victory:  11.116 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  3 for 8 laps.

Lead Changes:  8 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   R. Blaney 1-18;C. Buescher 19-23;R. Preece 24;S. Van Gisbergen # 25-36;R. Blaney 37-53;S. Van Gisbergen # 54-62;C. Briscoe 63-68;B. Keselowski 69-73;S. Van Gisbergen # 74-90.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Shane Van Gisbergen # 3 times for 38 laps; Ryan Blaney 2 times for 35 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 6 laps; Brad Keselowski 1 time for 5 laps; Chris Buescher 1 time for 5 laps; Ryan Preece 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 17,48,60,9,42,47,12,88,19,51

Stage #2 Top Ten: 12,24,20,16,6,35,48,47,54,60