Van Gisbergen on the brink of NASCAR Cup Series history
Shane van Gisbergen on the brink of NASCAR Cup Series history
Van Gisbergen claims seventh Cup Series win on a road course
Only Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart have more road course wins
Supercars legend Shane van Gisbergen has edged towards NASCAR Cup Series history, restarting his 2026 championship hopes with victory at Watkins Glen.
The three-time Supercars champion motored to a second consecutive victory at Watkins Glen, with van Gisbergen claiming his seventh Cup Series race win.
Van Gisbergen was 29 seconds from the lead with 18 laps remaining, but charged through the field to pass Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs with eight laps to go after a strategic tyre-saving masterclass.
Only Jeff Gordon (nine wins) and Tony Stewart (eight) have more Cup Series road course wins than van Gisbergen, who famously won on debut in Chicago in 2023.
The 80-time Supercars race winner has also has wins in Mexico City, Sonoma and Charlotte Roval.
"Unbelievable to win in the 97," said van Gisbergen, who moved back to the crucial 16th position in the championship standings.
"Thank you to Trackhouse [Racing, team]. We weren't very good in practice, and then qualifying was amazing.
"Good tweaks, and then today, so what a race car. And then Stephen [Doran, crew chief] made great calls. I wasn't sure how it was going to work, and then to run them down like that, very, very special to do it here.
"It's not easy. Everyone's really good. There was a lot of pressure there, and I think [Michael] McDowell was good. Connor [Zilisch] was good. Tyler Reddick, there was some really good guys and a lot of pressure.
"So just stoked for these guys, to execute every single lap out here. Speechless."
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series resumes at the All-Star race at Dover next weekend.
The 2026 Repco Supercars Championship continues at the Tyrepower Tasmania Super 440 on May 22-24. International fans can watch the Supercars action live on SuperView.
