It’s easy to forget that Shane van Gisbergen is still technically a NASCAR rookie.
Ever since the Auckland, New Zealand native took the world by storm with a win at the Chicago street course last summer in the NASCAR Cup Series, he’s adapted quickly to stock-car racing. In 2024, he’s won three times in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
In his handful of Cup starts this season, he’s looked like a seasoned NASCAR veteran. Only a wild Chase Briscoe kept him from potentially defending his 2023 Chicago win, and it looked like he was poised to run down Chris Buescher on Sunday (Sept. 15) and win his second Cup race at Watkins Glen.
After a rash of late yellow flags, however, van Gisbergen had to try to win the race from the third position on the final restart. An aggressive entry into turn 1 granted the No. 16 the lead, and when the white flag flew, it looked like van Gisbergen was well on his way to yet another road course win.
And then, the man who has looked near-invincible on road courses since his NASCAR debut finally slipped up, sliding through the bus stop and giving Buescher the opportunity he needed to make a move.
With heartbreaking losses at Kansas Speedway and Darlington Raceway earlier in the season fresh in his mind, Buescher tapped van Gisbergen’s Camaro with the front bumper of his Mustang, moving the No. 16 out of the way and giving Buescher clean track ahead.
A final charge from van Gisbergen was all for naught, and as Buescher and the No. 17 team celebrated, all a “gutted” van Gisbergen could do was watch from pit road.
Van Gisbergen hasn’t been 100% perfect on road courses this season — as Sam Mayer can attest to after an early spin at Portland International Raceway — but when the chips are down, you can almost always count on the Supercars legend to come through clutch.
Buescher deserves credit for being opportunistic and pouncing on van Gisbergen’s mistake, but it was a mistake that left the door open for Buescher to make a move in the first place.
For a man who’s looked darn near unbeatable on road courses since he came to the States, Sunday’s finish proves that even the best of the best still can’t conquer victory lane every week.
As long as he’s in the field, van Gisbergen will always be among the favorites to win at any road course to which NASCAR travels. However, the finish of Sunday’s race proves…
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