Following a green-flag pit stop, van Gisbergen surged from 26th place to the lead in just 17 laps, securing his second consecutive victory at Watkins Glen.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Shane van Gisbergen has developed a reputation for delivering breathtaking performances on NASCAR road courses, but his Sunday triumph at Watkins Glen International reached an extraordinary new level.
A disjointed strategy across the field forced van Gisbergen to pit under green with 25 laps remaining, dropping him to 26th place, a staggering 29.2 seconds behind the pack.
Given van Gisbergen’s skill and the talent he has displayed since moving to NASCAR from Australia’s Supercars, a half-minute deficit on a road course—where passing proved challenging for many—seemed insurmountable, even for him.
Perhaps a top-five finish would salvage the day.
Or perhaps he could still win.
Van Gisbergen chose the latter, erasing that 29-second gap in just 17 laps. If he isn’t already regarded as NASCAR’s greatest road-course racer ever, it’s difficult to name many—if any—who would rank ahead of him.
“I wasn’t sure how it would play out, but to chase them down like that, it feels very special to win two in a row,” van Gisbergen said after claiming back-to-back victories at the Glen.
In his brief NASCAR tenure with Trackhouse Racing, van Gisbergen now has seven road-race wins, starting with his stunning debut victory in the inaugural Chicago Street Course Race in 2023, where he shocked the stock car world in a one-off start.
Despite still learning oval racing and not yet a specialist on circle tracks, van Gisbergen holds a provisional spot in NASCAR’s 16-driver Chase for the Cup after the first 12 races of the season, nearing the halfway point of the regular season.
He punctuated the day with an emphatic 7.3-second victory margin.
“We have a race car driver who is performing at a level I don’t think this sport has ever seen on these road courses,” said Trackhouse owner Justin Marks.
Michael McDowell finished second, followed by Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, and Tyler Reddick—who had won the season’s first road race.
Austin Dillon surprised with a sixth-place finish for Richard Childress Racing, ahead of AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric, and John Hunter Nemechek rounding out the top 10.
NASCAR now heads to Dover Motor Speedway for its annual All-Star exhibition race. The points season resumes in two weeks with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Connor Zilisch’s Promising Day Turns Sour
For much of the race, van Gisbergen’s Trackhouse teammate, rookie sensation Connor Zilisch, appeared to be the only driver capable of challenging him. However, after deviating from van Gisbergen’s strategy and needing to conserve fuel, Zilisch’s crew made the wrong pit call after he was overtaken with eight laps remaining.
Compounding the setback, Zilisch had to pit with a flat tire and finished 20th, rather than third (where Gibbs finished on the same strategy) or fourth. It has been a frustrating season for Zilisch, who entered the Cup Series with high expectations after an impressive campaign in the second-tier O’Reilly Series. Despite winning Saturday’s O’Reilly race at the Glen, Zilisch now has back-to-back top-20 finishes for the first time this year and sits 32nd in points.
Trackhouse as a whole has struggled across all three cars this season, with typically reliable playoff contender Ross Chastain 19th in points. But on road courses, where driver skill carries more weight, van Gisbergen and Zilisch can elevate their cars to stronger results.
