Latest news with #vanGisbergen
NBC Sports
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Chicago Street Race won't be on NASCAR schedule in 2026
NASCAR has informed the city of Chicago that it will not hold a street race there next year but leaves open the possibility of returning in 2027. This month's race marked the third consecutive year that NASCAR competed on the streets of Chicago. NASCAR's agreement with the city was for three years (2023-25) with the option of two additional years (2026 and 2027). Julie Giese, president of the NASCAR Chicago Street Race, sent a letter Friday to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson informing him of NASCAR's decision to not race there next year. In the letter, Giese wrote that by skipping the event in 2026 it will 'afford us the time necessary to work collaboratively with your office and other community leaders to explore a new potential race date and to develop a plan that further optimizes operational efficiencies on the course build and breakdown while continuing our presence in the local community. 'Our goal is for the Chicago Street Race to return in 2027 with an event that further enhances the experience for residents and visitors alike, as we work together towards a new potential date, shorter build schedule, and additional tourism draws.' The Chicago Street Race was held near July 4 weekend each of the past three years. Giese explained in the letter to the Chicago mayor that the reason to 'pause' the event is that 'as we reflect on three successful years in Chicago, it is a priority for us to continue to be responsive to the feedback we've heard from residents, downtown stakeholders, and your administration.' Shane van Gisbergen won the inaugural Chicago Street Race in 2023 in his series debut. That race averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 4.795 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, making it the most-watched NASCAR Cup Series race on NBC since the 2017 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis. Viewership peaked at 5.383 million when van Gisbergen took the checkered flag. Alex Bowman won the race in 2024 and van Gisbergen won this year's event.
NZ Herald
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- NZ Herald
Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen returns to oval racing at Dover after road wins
'He's way, way, way better than us at the road course stuff and he's got his own technique, you can call it. Not his own because the rest of the world does it, right-foot braking, clutching and all that stuff. 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Like, there's zero chance I can learn how to do that. And even if I did, like there's zero chance that I can have it be better than what I'm probably doing left-foot braking. 'So yeah, he's just so good. And he's still new to the oval stuff, so he's going to continue to get better at that. And, yeah, I mean, if he could figure out the ovals, he's going to be dominant.' Van Gisbergen may only sit 26th in the Nascar Cup point's standing on 367 points, a fair way off leaders William Byron (668), Chaser Elliot (634) and Larson (624). However, with his three wins so far in 2025, van Gisbergen lies third in the playoff standings on 17 points behind Denny Hamlin (19) and Larson (23). The Kiwi should get through the round of 16 despite it being entirely on ovals. The round of 12 will be a challenge, but Hamlin is confident van Gisbergen could actually make it through to the round of eight. Shane van Gisbergen gets ready for a practice session at Daytona International Speedway. Photo / Photosport High praise indeed from 57-race winner Hamlin but van Gisbergen is under no illusions just how hard it will be. After Sonoma he admitted he was apprehensive heading into the round of 16. 'It's a crazy first round for me. We go to Darlington, which is my favourite oval. Then I think it's Gateway, which I've never been to. Then Bristol, I might as well be going the other way. 'Hopefully we get better at tracks like that. We'll see how Gateway is,' he said. Van Gisbergen will make his first Nascar Cup Series start at Dover Motor Speedway this weekend. Last year racing in the Xfinity Series he started 31st and crossed the line in 18th. 'I'm looking forward to getting back into some oval racing. It's been a nice break doing all these road courses, but Dover should be good. 'I struggled a bit there last year, but I still had fun. It's an epic track. Just how fast you can go into that corner, it feels like you are dropping and then all of a sudden you are loading up into the banking, just how much grip the track has is mind blowing. 'My team has a bunch of momentum heading into this weekend, so I'd like to keep that progression going and keep starting to build towards the top half of the field on the ovals.' Heading into Dover van Gisbergen leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings on 367 points from Riley Herbst (238).
Gulf Today
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Today
Shane van Gisbergen tames Sonoma course for triumph
NASCAR's new King of the Road is having an unstoppable summer to remember. For the third time in five races, Shane van Gisbergen leveled the field at a NASCAR Cup Series road course, zigging and zagging to victory at Sonoma Raceway in Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 in Sonoma, Calif. The Trackhouse Racing road ace outran Chase Briscoe in a four-lap sprint on their third late restart to top the No. 19 Toyota driver by 1.13 seconds for his second straight win. It was his third victory of 2025, tying him with Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson for the series lead. He won for the fourth time in 34 career starts, the fewest to get to four since Parnelli Jones needed 31 in 1967. van Gisbergen, known as SVG, said it was hard to believe his team, winless as it headed to Mexico City last month, would start third by way of wins there, Chicago and Sonoma if the playoffs started with the current standings. Shane Van Gisbergen celebrates in victory lane. AFP "Hard to believe that, isn't it?" said SVG, who led 97 of 110 laps. "We've built up all year and got better and better. Now we need to keep getting better on the ovals and start proving some people wrong." Runner-up Briscoe compared van Gisbergen to the five-time NBA Most Valuable Player who won six championships and now owns a NASCAR team. "The only opportunity (to pass SVG) was on the restarts," said the Joe Gibbs Racing pilot. "Obviously, I never played basketball against Michael Jordan in his prime, but I felt like that was probably what it was like. "That guy's just unbelievable on road courses. He's raised the bar on this entire series." Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell and Bell were top-five finishers in the six- caution event. Chevrolet scored its third straight win and fourth in the past five races. After van Gisbergen scored his third consecutive road course pole and fourth overall of his career, all on road courses, last week's Chicago winner led the field to green on a track that had been slick all weekend due to a sealer placed on the 12-turn, 1.99-mile layout. Shane van Gisbergen (right) celebrates with a crew member. AP The Auckland, New Zealand, native led the first 22 laps of Stage 1 but decided to pit with a nearly seven-second lead over points leader William Byron. That turned the lead over to Ross Chastain, who led after the 25th lap and grabbed 10 bonus points. van Gisbergen and Bubba Wallace trailed the No. 1 Chevrolet at the break, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Byron completing the top five. With 10 circuits left in Stage 2, Trackhouse teammates Chastain and Daniel Suarez, the 2022 Sonoma winner, made hard contact after Suarez's No. 99 blocked Chastain and was turned backwards on the track. van Gisbergen's run in the second stage resembled the first, though he did it with a much smaller advantage. He topped Briscoe by over three seconds as pitting began on Lap 52. After bringing his No. 88 in for service, van Gisbergen passed Larson, who led his first lap since Charlotte on Memorial Day weekend, for the stage win. Kyle Busch, Wallace and Stenhouse followed behind the pair. Two incidents on Lap 62 brought out the first caution for cause as Chris Buescher forced Ryan Blaney off into a grassy patch and Wallace and Hamlin spun near each other. Reuters
San Francisco Chronicle
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- San Francisco Chronicle
Shane van Gisbergen continues his NASCAR road course dominance with Sonoma win
In just his second year on the circuit, Shane van Gisbergen is NASCAR's new king of the road. The 36-year-old native of New Zealand added to his impressive and growing resume with a close victory in the SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday. In doing so van Gisbergen joined an elite group. He became the first driver since Vallejo native Jeff Gordon — NASCAR's winningest road course racer (nine victories, five of which came at Sonoma) — to win on three road courses from the pole position in the same season. Van Gisbergen's victory was also the fourth of his career in 34 races, the quickest a Cup Series driver has won four times since Parnelli Jones in 1967. All of this came one week after van Gisbergen swept the Chicago Street Race and cemented his spot as the current top road course driver in the country. 'You just have to appreciate the run we've had,' van Gisbergen said following his third victory in five weeks. 'For us it was a tough start to the year. We've gotten better and better. As a team it's such a cool atmosphere to be a part of.' Much like he did June 15 when he won the inaugural Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez race in Mexico City, van Gisbergen dominated Sunday and held big leads most of the afternoon. He won by more than 16 seconds in Mexico. It was much closer in Sonoma. Three drivers led in the final stage. There were four restarts over the last 11 laps, allowing the field to close the gap on van Gisbergen, who chose to stay on the course when many of the top contenders pitted and got new tires. That made for a wild final five laps. Chase Briscoe got the jump on van Gisbergen on a restart with five laps left, and Chase Elliott — running on fresh tires — was quickly working his way toward the front before the leader patiently worked his way around the final two laps to secure the win. 'I knew Chase wasn't going to do anything stupid, but he got really close at Turn 2 a couple of times,' van Gisbergen said. 'He had a proper crack, it was cool racing him.' Briscoe finished second. Elliott, Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five. Briscoe, who called Sonoma his toughest track to race, said van Gisbergen's dominance on road courses has been impressive. 'I never played basketball against Michael Jordan when he was in his prime, but I feel like that's what it was probably like,' Briscoe said. 'That guy's just unbelievable on road courses, he's just so good. He's really raised the bar on this entire series.' Series Cup points leader William Byron finished eighth while defending race champion Kyle Larson wound up 35th. Van Gisbergen, who is 26th in the standings, is tied with Larson, Denny Hamlin and Bell with three wins apiece this season. 'He's something NASCAR's never seen on road courses,' van Gisbergen's crew chief Stephen Doran said. 'This team has done a great job building from the beginning of the year 'til now to get to the point where we can do this, dominate these races.'
1News
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- 1News
NASCAR: Kiwi Shane Van Gisbergen wins again
Shane van Gisbergen extended his winning streak to two straight and three victories in the last five weeks with yet another dominating run on a road course. The New Zealander once again showed he's in a completely different class on road and street courses than his rivals as he led 97 of 110 laps to win from pole at Sonoma Raceway. All three of his wins this year have been from pole — which tied him with Jeff Gordon for a NASCAR record of three consecutive road course victories from the top starting spot. Gordon did it between the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Victory number four for van Gisbergen — who stunned NASCAR in 2023 when he popped into the debut Chicago street course race from Australian V8 Supercars and won — seemed a given before teams even arrived at the picturesque course in California wine country. His rivals have lamented that "SVG" has a unique braking technique he mastered Down Under that none of them — all oval specialists — can ever learn. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a fire at an Auckland chapel, new plan for international students, and a first time Wimbledon winner. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT That win in Chicago two years ago led van Gisbergen to move to the United States for a career change driving stock cars for Trackhouse Racing. He and Ross Chastain have pumped energy into the team over this summer stretch with Chastain kicking it off with a Memorial Day weekend victory at the Coca-Cola 600. Van Gisbergen is the fastest driver to win four Cup Series races — in his 34th start — since Parnelli Jones in 1969. "It means everything. That's why I race cars. I had an amazing time in Australia, and then to come here and the last couple weeks, or years, actually, has been a dream come true," said van Gisbergen. "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." The Sonoma win made it four victories for Trackhouse in eight weeks. Van Gisbergen was second from pole in Saturday's Xfinity Series race. Although he dominated again Sunday, van Gisbergen pitted from the lead with 27 laps remaining and then had to drive his way back to the front. He got it with a pass of Michael McDowell with 19 laps remaining, but two late cautions made van Gisbergen win restarts to close out the victory in his Chevrolet. Chase Briscoe was second in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. "I've never played against Michael Jordan, but I imagine this was very similar," Briscoe said after not being able to pass van Gisbergen on the two late restarts — the last with five laps remaining. ADVERTISEMENT Briscoe was followed by Chase Elliott in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. McDowell in a Chevy for Spire Motorsports was fourth and Christopher Bell in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing was fifth. Shane van Gisbergen (88) competes during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (Source: Associated Press) In-Season challenge The mid-season tournament that pays US$1 million (NZ$1.6 million) to the winner is down to four drivers. Alex Bowman finished 25th and eliminated Ty Dillon, who finished 26th. Tyler Reddick (11th) knocked out Ryan Preece (16th), John Hunter Nemechek knocked out teammate Erik Jones as they finished 21st and 22nd, and Zane Smith, with a seventh-place finish, eliminated Ty Gibbs. Bowman, at eighth, is the highest-seeded driver still in the challenge, which debuted this year. Crew fight ADVERTISEMENT NASCAR officials had to separate the crews for Brad Keselowski and Ty Gibbs when members from the two teams scrapped on pit road during the race. Keselowski's crew confronted Gibbs' crew after Gibbs drove through their pit stall and narrowly missed hitting some of Keselowski's crew members already in place waiting for him. The confrontation appeared to be contained to pushing and shoving and NASCAR quickly stepped between them. Both crews were given an official warning for fighting but NASCAR said Gibbs did nothing wrong. Clean race — for awhile It took 61 of the 110 laps for the first caution for an on-track incident — when Ryan Blaney was knocked off the course and into the dirt early in the third stage. The contact from Chris Buescher left Blaney stranded, and right before NASCAR could throw the yellow, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin both spun. It was technically the third caution of the race, but the first two were for natural stage breaks. The race ended with six cautions — two in the final stretch. Up next The Cup Series races Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware, where Denny Hamlin won last year.
