Van Gisbergen takes back-to-back races
- NZ Sports Wire
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
New Zealand driver Shane van Gisbergen proved that it is impossible to keep a road-course superstar down for more than a brief interlude.
After finishing second to Connor Zilisch in Saturday’s (Sunday NZ TIme) Nascar Xfinity Series race, van Gisbergen was back on top on a pleasant Sunday afternoon (Monday NZT) in California wine country, winning the Cup Series’ Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
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As has become his custom of late, the Kiwi reached a trio of milestones, winning his third straight road/street course race from the pole position to equal Jeff Gordon’s feat from 1998 and 1999.
The victory was van Gisbergen’s third of the season in his first trip around the 1.99-mile, 12-turn circuit in a Nascar Cup Series car. SVG won for the fourth time in 34 starts, becoming the quickest to four wins since Parnelli Jones won at Riverside in 1967 in his 31st Cup start.
His 97 laps led are the most by a Sonoma winner, eclipsing Jeff Gordon’s high-water mark of 92 set in 2004.
“We had an amazing car,” van Gisbergen said. “Chase Briscoe, what a great racer and gave me respect. Jumped the last (restart) a little bit, and it was pretty tense, but amazing."
The winner of 81 Supercars races on the way to three championships in the series, van Gisbergen already is being touted as perhaps the best road-course racer in Nascar history.
“I had an amazing time in Australia, and then to come here and the last couple weeks, or years actually, has been a dream come true,” said the 36-year-old. “I’ve really enjoyed my time in Nascar. Thanks, everyone, for making me feel so welcome. I hope I’m here for a long time to come.”
Winning the second stage despite short-pitting to preserve track position, van Gisbergen advanced to third on the current Cup Series Playoff grid with 17 playoff points.
He crossed the finish line 1.128 seconds ahead of Chase Briscoe, but the win was far from guaranteed, given the chaos of the final 15 laps.
SVG had to survive three cautions and subsequent restarts in the late stages of the race to seal the win, as a large group of drivers on better tires chased those who had stayed on the track (including the race winner) after Cody Ware lost a tire and caused a yellow on Lap 97.
The action on the final few laps was attributable in part to battles within the Nascar Cup Series’ In-Season Challenge.
In the third round at Sonoma, Ty Dillon bumped Alex Bowman out of the way on the final lap to finish 17th to Bowman’s 19th and keep his hopes for the US$1 million prize alive.
Dillon will face John Hunter Nemechek in next week's semifinals at Dover Motor Speedway. Nemechek finished one spot ahead of Legacy Motor Club teammate Erik Jones (28th to 29th) to advance to the fourth round.
Ty Gibbs moved into the tournament semifinals with a seventh-place finish to Zane Smith’s 27th, and Tyler Reddick ousted Ryan Preece with a sixth-place run to Preece’s 12th. Gibbs and Reddick will face off at the Monster Mile for a trip to the finals.
Ross Chastain and van Gisbergen divided the stage wins. Chastain encountered trouble in a tangle with Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suárez on Lap 45, with Suárez spinning after the contact in the Turn 11 hairpin and losing 15 positions in the exchange.
The Cup Series’ next race falls on Sunday (6am Monday NZT) at Dover Motor Speedway. Six races remain in the regular season before the 16-driver field for the Cup Series Playoffs is set.
