Shane van Gisbergen rules at Watkins Glen
- NZ Sports Wire
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Shane van Gisbergen made it look effortless as he won his fourth Nascar Cup Series road-course race of the season.
The New Zealand driver won by more than 10 seconds for the second time in 2025, pulling away from the field to win at the historic Watkins Glen International circuit in picturesque upstate New York on Sunday afternoon (Monday NZ Time).
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The 36-year-old led a race-best 38 of 90 laps, including the final 17, his No 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet officially crossing the finish line 11.116 seconds ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell.
Van Gisbergen, a three-time Australian Supercars 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 multiyear 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 full-time 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 – gives him the 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 Chris Buescher, who edged van Gisbergen for the win at Watkins Glen in 2024, still registered as 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.
Two regular-season races now remain — at Richmond Raceway next weekend and the August 23 finale at Daytona International Speedway.
Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, the regular season championship leader, 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 has 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 pole-sitter, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney.
Van Gisbergen’s teammate Daniel Suárez 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 provisionally eligible for the playoffs on the basis of points.
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 picture.
Kyle Larson, a two-time Watkins Glen winner, was knocked from contention early after a Lap 6 spin in the 90-degree first turn. Larson said his No 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was plagued by a brake issue, and the car went to the Cup Series garage for repairs. Larson finished last in the 39-car field, 15 laps down.
The Cup Series’ next race is the Cook Out 400, scheduled Saturday night (Sunday NZT) at Richmond Raceway.