SONOMA — Following his impressive victory in last weekend’s Chicago Street Race, New Zealand road course ace Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 88 Red Bull Trackhouse Racing Chevy, was the clear favorite to repeat in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, but his dominating performance left his competitors deflated and wondering if there is anything they can do to stop him.
After earning the pole in Saturday’s qualifying, van Gisbergen finished second and first, respectively, in the race’s first two stages — despite pitting two laps prior to the end of each stage — and led 97 out of 110 total laps in the race.
“This was an amazing day. We had a great time as a team last week, and so to do it again, it is hard to put into words at this moment,” said van Gisbergen, who has now won three of the last five races, all on road courses. “You just have to appreciate the run we are on. After a tough start to the year, we have gotten better and better.”
Along with Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson, van Bisbergen becomes the fourth driver to post three wins this season, and his recent hot streak moved him up to third for playoff seeding after sitting 33rd in the standings just five weeks ago.
Chase Briscoe, driving the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, finished in second, 1.128 seconds behind the leader, while Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five.
A rash of cautions in the final 13 laps of the race kept things close and gave Briscoe multiple opportunities to challenge van Gisbergen, but the Kiwi easily drove away from him on each occasion.
"I never played basketball against Michael Jordan in his prime, but I feel like that's probably what it was like. That guy is unbelievable on road courses. He's just so good,” said the dejected Briscoe. “I don’t know what more I need. I felt like every time I started to run down Shane, he would just pick up the pace and pull away again.”
The last three years have been a whirlwind for the 36-year-old van Gisbergen. After winning 81 races and three championships in Australian Supercars, he drove to a stunning victory at the inaugural Chicago Street Race in 2023, becoming the first driver in the modern era of NASCAR to win in his first-ever Cup start.
Following the 2024 season, in which he posted three victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing, van Gisbergen was signed to drive the full Cup schedule for Trackhouse Racing in 2025.
“This means everything. That's why I race cars. I had an amazing time in Australia, and then to come here and the last of couple weeks, or years, actually, has been a dream come true," explained van Gisbergen, who credits his success to his team. "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."
In just 34 starts, van Gisbergen is the fastest driver to win four Cup Series races since Parnelli Jones in 1969, and he is now the winningest driver born outside the United States.
While it was a day van Gisbergen will always remember, it was also a day Elk Grove native Kyle Larson, last year’s race winner, would like to forget.
After starting the race in the 11th position, Larson soon fell off the pace and sunk down to mid-pack, where he remained until a late-race crash dropped him to a 35th-place finish in the 37-car field.
The NASCAR Cup Series now heads to the east coast for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware next Sunday, July 20.
Sonoma Notes
NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time Series champion Jimmie Johnson became the 30th inductee into its Wall of Fame on Sunday. Johnson recorded one victory and nine top-10 finishes in 18 career starts at Sonoma Raceway. Of his 83 Cup wins, his 2010 victory at Sonoma was the only one to come on a road course.
While he was untouchable in Sunday’s Cup race, Shane van Gisbergen proved he was human after finishing a close second to his 18-year-old JR Motorsports teammate Connor Zilisch in Saturday’s 79-lap Boss/FoodMaxx 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
The $1 million to the winner of the mid-season tournament is down to four drivers after Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, John Hunter Nemechek, and Ty Gibbs, knocked out Ty Dillon, Ryan Preece, Erik Jones, and Zane Smith, respectively.
Next up at Sonoma Raceway will be the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series DENSO Sonoma Nationals from Friday, July 25, through Sunday, July 27. For more information, visit the track’s website at SonomaRaceway.com or by calling (800) 870-RACE [7223].
