Rookie Shane van Gisbergen remains
NASCAR's king of the road courses with 4th victory of the season
[August 11, 2025]
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) — Shane van Gisbergen’s latest
victory in NASCAR’s premier series was as historical as it was
emotional.
With his father, Robert, on hand for the first time this year, the
Auckland, New Zealand, native set a Cup Series rookie record with
his fourth victory, blowing out the competition again at Watkins
Glen International.
“It’s just amazing to have him here,” said van Gisbergen, who last
saw his father while visiting home over the Christmas break. “It’s
been a very tough, tough year for dad, and 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.”
As amazing as van Gisbergen’s rookie season in the Cup series.
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
edged by Ryan Blaney. After qualifying second, van Gisbergen bided
his time and took his first lead on the 25th of the 90-lap race. He
then settled 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 said. “The day went
flawlessly.”
The 36-year-old rookie 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 big lead while leading the
final 17 laps, van Gisbergen beat Christopher Bell by 11.116
seconds.
“I’m thrilled because we’ve been struggling a little bit,” Bell
said. “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.”
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. He also
is the fastest to five wins in Cup since the legendary Dan Gurney,
who won his fifth race in his 13th start in January 1968.
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.
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Shane van Gisbergen, top, celebrates with his team in Victory Lane
after finishing first during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in
Watkins Glen, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
“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.”
Playoff watch
Third-place finisher Chris Buescher improved to 34 points ahead of
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing teammate Ryan Preece in the battle
for the final playoff spot.
Buescher outdueled van Gisbergen on the final lap to win at Watkins
Glen last year. His team tailored its strategy Sunday toward
amassing 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 of things,
so we brought a fast race car and made it happen,” Buescher said.
“We had a really fast race car again, just definitely took the
opportunity to capitalize on some big stage points early.”
Feisty Gibbs
It was another frustrating race for Ty Gibbs, who spun John Hunter
Nemechek late in Stage 2 and then complained about the handling and
strategy of his No. 54 Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing competition director
Chris Gabehart, who recently began working as a strategist and
consultant to Gibbs’ team, radioed the driver to “stay in the game”
after the Nemechek wreck and later took issue after Gibbs questioned
his team’s strategy.
“I’m sure you’ve got a real good understanding from inside the car,”
Gabehart told Gibbs on the radio. “So you can call the strategy if
you want, or we can keep rolling.”
Gibbs, the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, finished 33rd and
remained winless since moving into Cup after winning the 2022
Xfinity Series championship. Teammates Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin
and Christopher Bell have qualified for the playoffs with victories
this season.
Up next
The Cup Series will race Saturday at Richmond Raceway, which will
play host to its only NASCAR race weekend this season. The 0.75-mile
oval had two annual races on the Cup schedule from 1959-2024.
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