Shane van Gisbergen Chases Himself in Back-to-Back Sonoma Wins

by Crystal Clay

SONOMA, Calif. — Shane van Gisbergen left Sonoma Raceway with another NASCAR Cup Series trophy Sunday, but by his own measure, it still wasn’t his best.

Van Gisbergen completed a weekend sweep at Sonoma after winning Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, but Sunday’s Cup victory proved to be the more difficult half of the accomplishment.

The biggest surprise, he said, was how much better the No. 97 Chevrolet was on race day after a difficult Saturday.

“I think my team did an excellent job making my car better,” van Gisbergen said in Victory Lane. “It was a real battle yesterday. So yeah, it surprised me that we made it better. It was awesome.”

Even with those improvements, van Gisbergen admitted the car never reached the standard he expected.

Shane van Gisbergen removes his helmet after completing a weekend sweep with victory in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. (Photo: Eric Thompson/Shamboozled Photography)

“I thought we were a lost cause,” he said. “It was a pretty amazing day, really, to improve it as much as they did.”

As the race unfolded, however, his confidence began to grow.

“As soon as the race started, I still felt average, but I saw other people had similar issues or worse. Then that gave me confidence,” van Gisbergen said.

Crew chief Stephen Doran echoed his driver’s assessment, admitting the No. 97 wasn’t at the level the team expected.

“I have to say that it wasn’t a good car we gave him today,” Doran said. “Luckily we had him driving it to get here.”

After a difficult Saturday, Doran said the team spent the night trying to improve the No. 97 Chevrolet.

“We did a lot of work overnight trying to get better,” Doran said. “He obviously hated the car all weekend. I would say it was slightly better today, but still not great. Not as good as it was last year.”

Even so, Trackhouse’s strategy and van Gisbergen’s ability to manage his tires put the New Zealander in position to win.

“Stephen made great calls all day,” van Gisbergen said. “That group did an amazing job with the strategy and where I’d come out. Even that last stop, coming out in front and being able to manage my tires and manage that gap, it was really cool.”

The closing laps, however, were anything but comfortable.

“There was a lot of pressure at the end,” van Gisbergen said. “The last ten laps I was really in a world of hurt. It got pretty tense at the end.”

Behind him, Chase Briscoe believed he had the better car but admitted a late mistake entering Turn 1 cost him a chance at the victory.

“I definitely had the better car,” Briscoe said. “I didn’t do as good of a job as he did driving.”

Briscoe said he nearly lost control while trying to close the gap.

“It was just such a razor’s edge, and I about crashed,” Briscoe said. “If I don’t make that mistake, I’m probably ahead of him at the end.”

Van Gisbergen agreed another lap or two could have changed the outcome.

“If there was a lap or two more, I would have been in trouble,” he said. “I’m really thankful it wasn’t one or two laps longer.”

The victory helped make up for last week’s early exit at the inaugural NASCAR San Diego weekend, where van Gisbergen was collected in a multicar accident.

“I was certainly pissed at the start of the week,” he said. “This really makes up for it, sharing it with these guys.”

The relief extended beyond the driver. Former Oakland Raiders linebacker and current No. 97 jackman Marshall McFadden said last week’s early exit in San Diego motivated the entire team. “Obviously, in San Diego, things didn’t happen in our favor, so all of us kind of chomped on it a bit,” McFadden said. “We all came out like mad men.”

For McFadden, returning to Northern California ended on a much different note.

“At the end of the day, we had to execute,” he said. “SVG, the car chief, the crew chief—everybody executed well. We came out with it.”

Despite another road-course victory, van Gisbergen’s attention quickly shifted to the upcoming stretch of oval races. Asked what he wants the team to carry forward, he said improvement remains the priority.

“I’m still the weak link as a driver, but I’ve got good teammates and the other cars, and they’re struggling as well,” van Gisbergen said. “So we all as a team need to improve.”

“It’s just going to come through hard work and trying to emulate what the other Chevys are doing. They’ve really stepped up the last couple of months. We need to do the same.”

“I just have to do my best every week and keep improving, don’t do anything stupid,” he said. “Just accumulate points. Qualify well. Start up front. Hopefully we get better.”

“Against that guy,” Briscoe said, “you’ve got to be absolutely perfect.”