Shane van Gisbergen 'Managed the Best He Could' Despite Issues in Historic NASCAR Cup Win
Following his second-place finish in Saturday's Xfinity Series race, Shane van Gisbergen rose to the top in the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday afternoon. He started from the front to seal the pole position in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, winning three straight road/street course races.
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Despite finishing second in Stage 1, the Kiwi driver won Stage 2 with short pit stops to save his track position. He had to survive three cautions and late-race restarts to seal the win, extending his status as the Cup Series' winningest foreign-born driver. Ultimately, he advanced to third on the current Playoff grid with 17 playoff points.
Shane Van Gisbergen during driver introductions for the Duels at Daytona.Peter Casey-Imagn Images
Speaking in a post-race interview, Shane van Gisbergen revealed that his #88 Chevrolet ZL1 faced some rear grip issues during his pole-grabbing qualifying run. However, its handling became much more manageable during the official Cup race at Sonoma.
"As soon as I took off—five laps in—I'm like, 'Ah, this thing's night and day better.'" van Gisbergen said. "Yesterday we were fast, but it was so loose… we still struggled with the rears, but night and day better than yesterday.
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"I was complaining in the first stage, but Stephen and Josh kept telling me others were saying the same stuff. So, you just had to tell yourself everyone's got the same issues and try to manage it the best you could."
Comparing NASCAR to Supercars, he admitted that NASCAR races are more difficult to win due to their chaotic and unpredictable nature, even with the fastest car.
"These races are really hard to win," said SVG. "Even though we had the fastest car today, it's very rare in NASCAR for the fastest car to win the race. There's so much stuff that happens—those late-race restarts. Just to execute, make the most of it… Really, really cool."
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"It ranks up there. These races are really hard to win, but luckily, a great car, great team, makes a big difference."
Despite facing grip issues and late restarts, the three-time Supercars champion secured two NASCAR records from Jeff Gordon. His third straight road/street course race from pole position tied the feat of the former racer from 1998 and 1999. As a Sonoma winner, his 97 laps led even broke Gordon's mark of 92 set in 2004. On top of all this, he became the fastest Cup driver to grab four victories since Parnelli Jones won at Riverside in 1967.
With eyes set on eclipsing more records, the New Zealander will now take a victory shot at the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 race. The Cup Series race falls on July 20 at Dover Motor Speedway with six races remaining in the regular season.
Related: Shane van Gisbergen's Chicago Burnout and Near-Miss Sparks Debate Over Dangers in Victory Celebrations
Related: Shane van Gisbergen Opens Up on 'Really Difficult' Uncertainty Ahead of Chicago Street Race
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
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