Shane van Gisbergen continued his march into NASCAR history Sunday with his fourth victory this season, blowing out the competition again at Watkins Glen International.
The Trackhouse Racing 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 prior wins at Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma, van Gisbergen was unable to start from the pole position (after being nipped in qualifying by Ryan Blaney).
The Auckland, New Zealand, native bided his team from the second starting spot, taking his first lead on Lap 25 of 90 and then settling into a typically flawless and smooth rhythm on the 2.45-mile road course.
“I’m just a very lucky guy to get to drive for an amazing bunch of people and just execute,” van Gisbergen told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “The day went flawlessly.”
He made his final pit stop with 27 laps remaining and cycled into first place on Lap 74 of a clean race with only three yellow flags. Cruising to a wide margin while leading the final 17 laps, van Gisbergen beat Christopher Bell by 11.116 seconds. Chris Buescher finished third, followed by points leader William Byron and Chase Briscoe.
“I’m thrilled because we’ve been struggling a little bit,” Bell told NBC Sports’ Kim Coon. “Just trying to execute the races has been tough for us, so really awesome to have a good day. Frustrated to get our butts kicked by (van Gisbergen). He’s doing such a really good job. That team has it going on. We need to find a little bit more but certainly happy.”
With five victories in only 38 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series, van Gisbergen trails only Elliott (seven wins) and Kyle Larson (six) among active drivers on street or road courses.
The win validated the decision by Trackhouse to sign van Gisbergen to a multiyear contract extension last week. Tied with Denny Hamlin for the series lead in victories, van Gisbergen holds the No. 2 seed in the playoffs with two races remaining in the regular season.
The first round will be held at three oval tracks, where the inexperienced van Gisbergen, who raced exclusively on road and street courses while winning three championships in the Australia-based Supercars, has an average finish of 26.9 this year.
“It ain’t going to be easy, that’s for sure,” van Gisbergen said of his playoff outlook. “The first round, it’s some very difficult left-handed tracks for me, but I’m getting better at it, and I’m enjoying myself, and it’s a challenge. That’s why we’re here, and we’ll have a proper crack at it.”
Stage 1 winner: Chris Buescher
Stage 2 winner: Ryan Blaney
Next: Saturday, Aug. 16, 7:30 p.m. ET at Richmond Raceway on USA
