Shane van Gisbergen takes Watkins Glen for 4th win this year
Watkins Glen, NY – Shane Van Gisbergen won his fourth victory this season, exploding the competition again at Watkins Glen International.
The Trackhouse racing pilot joined the 2020 Chase Elliott champion and the Nascar Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon as the only drivers to win four consecutive cup races on road or street paths.
Unlike his victories prior to Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma, Van Gisbergen could not qualify for pole position after being obsessed by Ryan Blaney. The native of Auckland, in New Zealand, waited for his team after starting second, taking his first advance on the turn 25 of 90, then settling in a generally impeccable and smooth pace on the road route of 2.45 miles.
The recruit made its last stop at the stand with 27 laps to play and was lived in first place on Tour 74 of a clean race with only three yellow flags. Cruising in a big advance while leading the last 17 laps, Van Gisbergen beat Christopher Bell 11.116 seconds. Chris Buescher finished third, followed by William Byron and Chase Briscoe.
With five victories in just 38 career departures in the first NASCAR series, Van Gisbergen Trails only Elliott (seven victories) and Kyle Larson (six) among the drivers active on street or road lessons.
The victory validated Trackhouse’s decision to sign Van Gisbergen to a multi -year contract extension last week.
Fiery gibbs
It was another frustrating race for Ty Gibbs, who spun John Hunter Nemechek at the end of stage 2, then complained about the manipulation and strategy of his Toyota n ° 54. The director of the competition for Joe Gibbs Racing, Chris Gabehart, who recently started working as a strategist and consultant of the Gibbs team, ” After Nemechek’s wreck and then presented himself after Gibbs questioned his team’s strategy.
“I am sure you have a very good understanding of the interior of the car,” Gabbs told Gibbs on the radio. “So that you can call the strategy if you wish, or we can continue to roll.”
Gibbs, the grandson of the owner of the Joe Gibbs team, finished 33rd and stayed without victory since entering the Cup after winning the XFINITY 2022 series championship. The Chase Briscoe teammates, Denny Hamlin and Bell qualified for the playoffs with victories this season.
The next
The CUP series will take place on Saturday August 16 in Richmond Raceway, which will host its only Nascar race weekend this season. The oval of 0.75 mile experienced two annual races on the Cup calendar from 1959 to 2024.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
