Watkins Glen, N.Y. – Shane van Gisbergen continued his march into NASCAR history Sunday and set a Cup Series record with his fourth victory this season, blowing out the competition again at Watkins Glen International.
The Trackhouse Racing driver joined 2020 champion Chase Elliott and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon as the only drivers to win four consecutive Cup races on road or street courses.
Unlike his prior wins at Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma, van Gisbergen was unable to qualify from the pole position after he was nipped by Ryan Blaney. The Auckland, New Zealand, native bided his team after starting second, taking his first lead on Lap 25 of 90 and then settling into a typically flawless and smooth rhythm on the 2.45-mile road course.
The rookie made his final pit stop with 27 laps remaining and cycled into first place on Lap 74 of a clean race with only three yellow flags. Cruising to a big lead while leading the final 17 laps, van Gisbergen beat Christopher Bell by 11.116 seconds. Chris Buescher finished third, followed by William Byron and Chase Briscoe.
With five victories in only 38 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series, van Gisbergen trails only Elliott (seven wins) and Kyle Larson (six) among active drivers on street or road courses.
Smiles after spill
Sporting a smile with his left elbow in a black sling draped around his neck, Connor Zilisch was back Sunday at Watkins Glen International and recounting his scary fall in victory lane.
After winning Saturday’s Xfinity race at the road course, Zilisch took a nasty tumble while attempting a celebratory perch on his No. 88 Chevrolet in celebration. Zilisch, 19, was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken collarbone. Trackhouse Racing withdrew the No. 87 Chevy that he was scheduled to drive in the Cup race Sunday at Watkins Glen.
“First of all, I’m doing OK,” Zilisch said during the USA broadcast of the Cup race. “Very grateful to be able to walk away from that, and I guess I didn’t walk away, but I’m very grateful to be walking today and to just be all right. Thank you to all the medics who took care of me, and everybody who reached out and wished me well. I do appreciate it a lot.”
After his series-high sixth victory, Zilisch realized he was in trouble immediately after the chaos began in victory lane, which typically is a frenzied scene of winning team members cheering and tossing beverages as their driver exits the car.
“Yeah, I was climbing out of the car and obviously the window net was on the door, and as soon as they started spraying water, my foot slipped,” he said. “And the last thing I remember was being halfway down and falling, so I’m glad it wasn’t any worse, and that the collarbone is the extent of the injuries, but hate I couldn’t make it to the race today.”
The question now turns to whether Zilisch will be ready in time to race in the next Xfinity race on Aug. 22 at Daytona International Speedway.
“We’re still working out with all the doctors to figure out what’s going to be the next steps,” Zilisch said.
