Shane van Gisbergen’s Watkins Glen weekend was a tale of two races, one ending in the barriers, the other ending in history being written once again.
After qualifying on the front row for both the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series events, the Kiwi looked poised for a double challenge.
Saturday’s promise unravelled in the Xfinity race, when contact with his Trackhouse teammate Connor Zilisch sent van Gisbergen into the wall before one of the biggest pile-ups in series road course history.
Less than 24 hours later, he roared back with a flawless Cup Series performance, taking his fourth consecutive road course victory and writing another record into the books.
Xfinity Hopes End in the Wall
In Xfinity qualifying, van Gisbergen secured a front-row start and was in the thick of the lead battle when disaster struck. Racing hard with Zilisch, the two made contact, sending the Kiwi into the barriers and out of contention.
For van Gisbergen, it was a bitter ending to what had been shaping as a strong run.
Not long after the restart, chaos erupted when Austin Hill tagged Michael McDowell into a multi-car wreck that completely blocked the track, the largest pile-up in Xfinity road course history.
Cup Qualifying:
In Cup Series qualifying later that day, van Gisbergen came within a whisker of pole position.
He topped the timesheets until a late flyer from Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney pipped him by just 0.033 seconds with a 1:11.960, marking Penske’s 150th Cup pole.
The starting grid saw Blaney and van Gisbergen share the front row, with Chase Briscoe and Ross Chastain in Row 2. Michael McDowell, back from the Xfinity crash, lined up alongside Kyle Busch on Row 3.
Alex Bowman and Carson Hocevar started from Row 4, while Christopher Bell and William Byron completed the top 10.
Stage 1:
When the green flag waved, Blaney capitalised on the inside line into Turn 1 to lead, with van Gisbergen slotting into second ahead of Briscoe and Chastain.
Early running saw the top 10 largely stable, the only notable change coming when Byron dropped to 11th with a tight-handling car, promoting Chris Buescher into the top 10.
Van Gisbergen stayed within a second of Blaney, telling his Trackhouse crew he was managing his rear tyres and that Blaney “has a little more in the rear end on corners.”
Further back, Briscoe began losing time to the leaders under pressure from Chastain.
Pit stops under green began with four laps to go, Briscoe, Chastain, Byron and others diving in.
McDowell, Busch, Hocevar and Riley Herbst followed a lap later. Blaney and van Gisbergen came in with two laps remaining, Blaney holding track position over the Kiwi exiting pit road.
Buescher, who stayed out, took the Stage 1 win ahead of Bowman, Preece, Elliott, John Hunter Nemechek, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Blaney, van Gisbergen, Briscoe and Cody Ware.
Stage 2:
Buescher and Preece led the field to green for Stage 2, with van Gisbergen and Blaney in Row 2.
On the restart, van Gisbergen swept past Blaney and then dispatched race leader Preece, who, along with Buescher, was struggling on worn tyres. Both tumbled down the order, Buescher to 13th and Elliott to 21st.
A spin for Josh Berry at Turn 5 after contact with Ty Dillon briefly threatened to keep the race green, but debris forced a caution. Elliott just made it to pit road before the yellow flag.
On the restart with nine to go in the stage, van Gisbergen held firm at the front, leading Blaney, Briscoe and Chastain.
Green-flag pit stops began with five laps remaining for Busch, Cindric, Hocevar, Zane Smith, Logano, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon.
With three laps left, van Gisbergen and Chastain stopped, handing Blaney the lead and the Stage 2 win ahead of Byron, Bell, Allmendinger, Keselowski, Herbst, Bowman, Stenhouse Jr., Ty Gibbs and Preece.
Van Gisbergen would restart the final stage in 12th, armed with fresher tyres than the cars ahead.
Final Stage:
The final stage began with Blaney and Byron leading, followed by Bowman, Bell, Gibbs, Preece, Elliott, Suarez, Buescher and Hamlin.
Van Gisbergen rocketed through the order immediately, gaining four spots on the opening lap to run eighth.
Contact between Busch and Hamlin in the final corner sent both wide, costing them multiple positions.
Van Gisbergen continued his charge, passing Preece for fifth after light contact at Turn 1, then sweeping past Bowman and Bell to take third within three laps.
By lap 51, the Kiwi had reeled in Byron, passing him for second and setting his sights on Blaney. One lap later, he was on Blaney’s bumper and made the move to lead with ease thanks to his tyre advantage.
Blaney pitted with 33 laps remaining, but a slow fuel fill cost him time, rejoining 23rd. Van Gisbergen extended his gap over the field to 18.4 seconds before stopping with 28 to go.
Rejoining 13th, van Gisbergen quickly cycled back forward as others made their final stops. Keselowski briefly led but pitted with 16 laps left, handing the advantage back to the Kiwi, who had Buescher 1.6 seconds behind.
The margin steadily grew, from 2.4 seconds to 4, then to 6.6, with six laps to go. There would be no repeat of 2024’s last-lap heartbreak, when Buescher snatched the win. This time, van Gisbergen was untouchable and took the chequered flag to win at Watkins Glen.
“Good to get that one back. What an awesome race,” van Gisbergen said.
“The car was just amazing again. To get another win. I definitely gave that bustop wall another metre on that last lap.
“That’s the stuff you dream about. I’m just a lucky guy to drive for an amazing bunch of people and just execute. The day just went flawlessly. I can’t believe it.”
Bell passed Buescher late for second, with Byron and Briscoe completing the top five. Blaney recovered to sixth, followed by Suarez, Wallace, Reddick and Chastain, giving Trackhouse all three cars a top 10 finish, a first in Trackhouse Racing history.
Historic Fourth Road Course Win
Van Gisbergen crossed the line with a commanding 11-second margin, becoming the first rookie in Cup Series history to win four races in their debut season, all on road courses.
With this victory, Van Gisbergen is second in the playoff standings, tied on four wins with Hamlin.
The victory carried added significance for van Gisbergen, whose mother, Karen, passed away last April. His father, “Cheese” [Robert], was trackside at Watkins Glen, watching him race in person for the first time this season. Van Gisbergen’s dog Ronald was even involved in the celebrations on victory lane.
“It’s amazing to have him here. A tough year for dad. He hasn’t been able to travel. To have him here for the next three weeks and share this with him, it’s amazing,” he added.
From Saturday’s Xfinity disappointment to Sunday’s dominant redemption, van Gisbergen’s Watkins Glen triumph underlined his growing status as one of NASCAR’s most formidable road course racers.
Header Image: NASCAR
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