Written by Nate Ryan
Shane van Gisbergen avoids thinking about his record-breaking rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series by characterizing numbers as something of an American thing.
After winning his fourth race of the year on Sunday at the Watkins Glen International road circuit in New York, van Gisbergen stated, “It usually hits me on the plane ride home or at 4 a.m. after a few beers.” I make an effort to think about it, but I also attempt to move on to the following week as soon as possible. I’ll make an effort not to tweet this morning at 4 a.m.
Joining 2020 winner Chase Elliott and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon as the third driver to win the Cup four times in a row on road or street courses is one of the laid-back Kiwi’s impressive accomplishments, if social media were any indication.
In addition, he broke ties with seven-time season champion Jimmie Johnson and three-time champion Tony Stewart by becoming the first rookie to win four games. He also won by the biggest margin of victory (11.116 seconds) in Watkins Glen’s history, and the second-largest this season after his 16.567-second victory at Mexico City, which was the biggest lead from first to second since 2009.
For the driver from Auckland, New Zealand, who has a terrible time on the ovals that make up the majority of the season, this next accomplishment might be the highest yet.
In Year 1, can van Gisbergen be considered a serious contender for the championship?
A deep run is anticipated for the No. 88 Chevrolet, according to Justin Marks, owner of Trackhouse Racing, who risked his name to persuade sponsors to spend millions on a bold strategy to qualify for the Cup playoffs with an unproven and unrecognized rookie.
Marks, who signed van Gisbergen to a multiyear agreement last week, stated that Shane simply keeps proving why we’ve committed to him for the long run, why we brought him over here from New Zealand, and why we created this team around him. Because in a sport like this, when winning is crucial and extremely difficult, you have to put your all into it if you can catch lightning in a bottle as SVG does. We have taken that action. It’s similar like watching a plan come to fruition.
The strategy now provides a route to a Cup championship.
Van Gisbergen has a substantial 22-point lead (wins are worth five points each for the playoffs) to overcome a 26.9 average finish on ovals in the first round of 16 drivers, which is held on three ovals.
The second round, which is limited to 12 drivers, takes place on the road track at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Eight drivers will compete for four spots in the championship final at Phoenix Raceway in the third round, which a driver would advance to with a victory there.
Marks remarked, “He’s in a really good position.” We have a genuine chance to advance to the Round of 8, in my opinion.
Van Gisbergen is more worried about the Bristol Motor Speedway first-round cutoff race than the playoffs, which begin at the challenging Darlington Raceway, whose peculiar layout is one of the most challenging in NASCAR. When he made his debut on the Tennessee short track on April 13, he placed 38th.
Van Gisbergen, who finished 20th in Darlington a week earlier, claimed, “I ran terrible there.” Bristol is a very difficult location, and it was very different from anything I had ever done. That’s most likely the main concern. Now that we have a lot of points, Darlington, I feel good. All you need is three consecutive weeks, and you could succeed. All we need to do is make sure we’re in a solid position each week, play the averages, and avoid blunders.
Marks said it’s unknown when Xfinity Series points leader Connor Zilisch would return from the broken collarbone he sustained while celebrating his series-high sixth victory on Saturday after he pulled Zilisch from the Cup race at Watkins Glen. Zilisch might be able to skip the last three regular-season races and still qualify for the Xfinity playoffs if NASCAR gives its consent.
According to Marks, he is an enormous asset and a key component of the company’s future. We must ensure that seizing a short-term opportunity does not jeopardize any long-term prospects.
According to van Gisbergen, Zilisch might make a comeback for the event at Daytona International Speedway on August 22 after competing in 2021 with a damaged collarbone.
Van Gisbergen remarked, “I had a weekend off and raced the following week, so that’s pretty much what he’s going through.” At the end of the year, I would get a plate put in and then remove it. It will undoubtedly be in discomfort. Tightening the belts was my toughest challenge. It was a terrible sensation to feel the plate piercing my skin. However, I did fairly well in my race the following week. He will undoubtedly finish the event successfully with the help of some excellent physicians and medications.
In front of team owner Michael Jordan, Bubba Wallace achieved a season-high fourth consecutive top 10 finish at Watkins Glen, finishing eighth, one spot ahead of teammate Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing. During this span, Wallace won the Brickyard 400, which earned him a spot in the playoffs and removed a great deal of strain on the No. 23 Toyota driver.
“Indy changed my life,” Wallace added. It made it possible for me to stop focusing on all of my typical road course errors. It’s fantastic to get MJ a couple of top 10s because the big boss was present.
