NASCAR star Shane van Gisbergen has laughed off the idea that he's getting too old to be fast, after a stunning win at Watkins Glen on Sunday.
The New Zealander extended his record as the winningest foreign-born driver in Cup Series history with a seventh career victory this weekend, but the nature of the victory appeared to take even him slightly by surprise.
Offset strategy calls meant that Van Gisbergen had to make up 25 places in the last 24 laps of the race, coming out of the pits 29 seconds behind leader Ty Gibbs – who had made his last stop of the day.
Not only had the Trackhouse Racing star caught and passed Gibbs with more than seven laps of the race remaining, he then rubber stamped his dominance by pulling out 16.5 seconds further from the Joe Gibbs Racing driver before the chequered flag.
NASCAR RESULTS: Shane van Gisbergen produces all-time great comeback at Watkins Glen
Van Gisbergen: I don't feel old!
SVG was asked in his post-victory press conference whether the drive through the field stood out as one of his best, replying: "I think we had to do that at Chicago too when I got buried in the pack.
"It’s pretty similar to that. Coming back through on better tires and charging. Yeah, I felt like this is one of the best races I’ve driven. You know, not many mistakes. Yeah, it was a pretty cool feeling.
"My mates were all giving me s*** yesterday about how I’m getting too old for my birthday. You know, I don’t feel old. I felt like that’s the best I’ve driven. It was pretty cool."
Asked what made his drive stand out as the best, the Trackhouse star said: "I think just everything was good. My car was not very good in practice yesterday. Then they changed for qualifying, and it was a big step in the right direction.
"Then today it was even better. Then just everything was good. My restarts were good. My pit stops. The guys did a great job. Then the strategy as well. Like, it was a great team victory.
"Yeah, as I always say, you see how much it means to everyone, and it hasn’t been the easiest year for us. Pretty cool to get that result. It means a lot just to – you know, there is pressure or expectation from everyone on these days, but when you ignore that and just execute, it’s a really cool feeling."
NASCAR Cup Series results from Watkins Glen
| Pos | Driver (Car No.) | Team (OEM) | Gap Behind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shane Van Gisbergen (97) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) | Leader |
| 2 | Michael McDowell (71) | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +7.288 |
| 3 | Ty Gibbs (54) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | +16.531 |
| 4 | Chase Briscoe (19) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | +19.253 |
| 5 | Tyler Reddick (45) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) | +19.372 |
| 6 | Austin Dillon (3) | R. Childress Racing (Chevrolet) | +20.941 |
| 7 | AJ Allmendinger (16) | Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet) | +21.518 |
| 8 | Kyle Busch (8) | R. Childress Racing (Chevrolet) | +22.302 |
| 9 | Austin Cindric (2) | Team Penske (Ford) | +22.421 |
| 10 | John Hunter Nemechek (42) | Legacy Motor Club (Toyota) | +25.438 |
| 11 | Ryan Blaney (12) | Team Penske (Ford) | +25.641 |
| 12 | Chris Buescher (17) | RFK Racing (Ford) | +30.506 |
| 13 | Daniel Suarez (7) | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +30.901 |
| 14 | Ryan Preece (60) | RFK Racing (Ford) | +32.096 |
| 15 | Cole Custer (41) | Haas Factory Team (Chevrolet) | +32.924 |
| 16 | Denny Hamlin (11) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | +34.645 |
| 17 | Todd Gilliland (34) | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) | +36.364 |
| 18 | Zane Smith (38) | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) | +36.599 |
| 19 | Erik Jones (43) | Legacy Motor Club (Toyota) | +37.776 |
| 20 | Connor Zilisch (88) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) | +42.011 |
| 21 | Christopher Bell (20) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | +43.433 |
| 22 | Noah Gragson (4) | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) | +43.879 |
| 23 | Kyle Larson (5) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +45.972 |
| 24 | Chase Elliott (9) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +46.428 |
| 25 | Alex Bowman (48) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +50.008 |
| 26 | Riley Herbst (35) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) | +51.845 |
| 27 | Ross Chastain (1) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) | +53.565 |
| 28 | Carson Hocevar (77) | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +60.393 |
| 29 | Bubba Wallace (23) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) | +69.881 |
| 30 | Brad Keselowski (6) | RFK Racing (Ford) | +70.527 |
| 31 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47) | HYAK Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +70.606 |
| 32 | Josh Berry (21) | Wood Brothers Racing (Ford) | +80.986 |
| 33 | Ty Dillon (10) | Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet) | 1 Lap |
| 34 | Josh Bilicki (66) | Garage 66 (Ford) | 1 Lap |
| 35 | Katherine Legge | Live Fast Motorsports (Chevrolet) | 1 Lap |
| 36 | William Byron (24) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | 3 Laps |
| 37 | Cody Ware (51) | Rick Ware Racing (Chevrolet) | 10 Laps |
| 38 | Joey Logano (22) | Team Penske (Ford) | 15 Laps |
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