Boasting an unprecedented 50% win rate through 16 starts, Shane van Gisbergen’s triumph at Sonoma cements his status as the most dominant road course force in NASCAR Cup Series history
SONOMA, Calif. — Shane van Gisbergen did it again. The man just won the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, picking up his second victory of the season and his eighth career Cup Series win.
More importantly, it was his eighth road course win in just his 16th start.
Let me say that again, an even 50% win rate on road courses in NASCAR’s top series. That’s not good. That’s not great. That’s flat-out ridiculous.
With this win, SVG moves into a tie with Tony Stewart for second on the all-time road course wins list with eight. He’s now just one behind Jeff Gordon for the most ever.
In a short amount of time, he’s already climbing the mountain and making people have the road course GOAT conversation.
It wasn’t a walk in the park on Sunday. Chase Briscoe was all over him late in the race and easily could’ve stolen the win if a couple turns went differently. But van Gisbergen held him off and got it done when it mattered most. That’s what the great ones do.
Now here’s the deal, it’s okay to just admit it.
Shane van Gisbergen is the greatest road course racer we’ve ever seen in NASCAR.
Yeah, we run more road races now than back when the schedule only had Sonoma and Watkins Glen, but a 50% win rate is insane no matter how you slice it.
Nobody else is even close to touching that kind of dominance on these types of tracks.
Will it last forever? Probably not. The competition is clearly catching up. Briscoe had a real shot today. Last week van Gisbergen was the heavy favorite, got caught in a wreck, and Corey Heim got the victory. Tyler Reddick beaten him straight up, fair and square at Circuit of the Americas.
That’s the nature of the sport, nobody stays unbeatable.
But here’s what makes SVG so impressive right now: he’s winning in spite of his team, not because of them. It’s no secret that Trackhouse Racing hasn’t been bringing top-shelf cars to the track lately. He’s out here looking like the best stock car road course driver on the planet while dragging equipment that isn’t always up to par.
Multiple things can be true at the same time. Shane van Gisbergen is the undisputed king of road courses in NASCAR history. His team is holding him back from even more dominance. And the competition around him is getting better every single week.
The guy came over from overseas and made it look easy in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, and now he’s doing the same thing in Cup.
Eight wins in 16 road course starts is the kind of stat that doesn’t happen by accident. He has the feel, the aggression, the tire management, and the racecraft that separate the good from the truly great on road courses.
So yeah, I’m comfortable calling him the GOAT of NASCAR road course racing until someone proves otherwise. Jeff Gordon had an incredible run, but what van Gisbergen is doing in this era, with this level of competition and in fewer starts, is special.
The sport is lucky to have him. Even on the days when he doesn’t win, he’s usually the guy everyone is chasing.
And right now, he’s still the best in the business when the track turns right as much as it turns left.
