SVG MASTERCLASS SECURES HISTORIC SONOMA WEEKEND SWEEP

New Zealand’s NASCAR road-course phenom Shane van Gisbergen completely conquered Sonoma Raceway, bouncing back from a frustrating DNF the previous week to secure a perfect weekend sweep in California.

Van Gisbergen claimed dominant back-to-back victories, taking Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (previously Xfinity Series) event before fighting through an ill-handling car to secure Sunday’s Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350. The masterclass cements his status as the premier road-course racer in modern NASCAR, vaulting him back up to 14th in the Cup Series standings and firmly inside the provisional Chase playoff cutline.

Saturday: Dominance in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

The Kiwi’s dominance started with Pole Position. “Cool to be back at Sonoma and starting on pole for O’Reilly Series with jrmotorsports and Super Innovation Company! “said SVG on FB.

Driving the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, van Gisbergen left no doubt as to who owned the 1.99-mile (3.20km) road course during Saturday’s Pit Boss Food Maxx 250. He dominated the field, leading a career-high 66 of the 79 laps.

Despite late-race pressure from rising star & Trackhouse Teammate, Connor Zilisch, van Gisbergen crossed the finish line with a comfortable 1.324-second margin to secure his second secondary-series win of the season.

SVG on FB: “Awesome day at Sonoma, the Super Innovation Company #9 Chevy was great today! The jrmotorsports guys and girls were flawless, awesome to have Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family there “

While Saturday looked effortless on track, van Gisbergen remained critical of his performance heading into the premier event, noting that his Cup Series qualifying effort felt “pretty subpar” after a surprising qualifying spin by the Kiwi national.

Sunday: Methodical Strategy and Ultimate Cup Triumph

Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 required a completely different approach. Lacking the outright pace he enjoyed on Saturday, van Gisbergen and his Trackhouse Racing team leaned heavily on execution and clever pit strategy to stay at the front.

Flipping the Stages

Rather than chasing Stage wins and risking deep traffic, crew chief Stephen Doran opted to short-pit before the end of the first two stages. This sacrifice of early stage points yielded crucial track position, ensuring van Gisbergen started the final segments with clean air.

Race Phase	Strategy & Position
Stages 1 & 2	Short-pitted prior to the green-white checkered flag to retain track position.
Lap 80	Stretched lead to over 2.1 seconds before making the final green-flag pit stop.
Final Laps	Fended off a massive late-race surge from Chase Briscoe to win by 0.357 seconds.

With less than 10 laps remaining, van Gisbergen’s rear tires began to fade drastically. A hard-charging Chase Briscoe closed the gap to under a second, but a costly slip by Briscoe in Turn 1 gave the Kiwi enough breathing room to cross the line for his eighth career Cup Series road-course victory—tying him with Tony Stewart for second on the all-time list.

Shane van Gisbergen

“Yeah, what a day. We were really bad yesterday, and these guys did an amazing job turning this car into a winner. [Chase Briscoe] was coming. He was really, really good, and I ran out [of tires] at the end. Pretty special to make up for last week, too. I was certainly pissed at the start of the week. This really makes up for it, sharing it with these guys.

Yeah, we had these crap boxes come out in front, and they were wobbling all over the track and putting dust, and I just kept struggling… A couple more laps we would have had some problems. It certainly helps, but I need to really step it up on the ovals. This is an oval championship, and I need to keep getting better at them.”

The Crew Chief: Stephen Doran (Trackhouse Racing No. 97)

“We didn’t have the speed in the car to drive our way through the field today, so we just chose to flip the Stages to maintain track position.”

 TRACKHOSE RACING – report 

• Shane van Gisbergen led Trackhouse Racing with a victory in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway on Sunday afternoon. The win on Sunday meant a weekend sweep for van Gisbergen after winning Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race for JR Motorsports. Teammate Connor Zilisch placed seventh and Ross Chastain finished 14th in the 110 lap Cup Series race.
• Van Gisbergen’s victory marked Chevrolet’s sixth of the season and 16th all-time in NASCAR’s premier series at Sonoma. The New Zealand native now has eight career road course wins in the Cup Series – a feat that ties Tony Stewart for second on the all-time road course wins list.
• Van Gisbergen lined up sixth for the 110 lap race at Sonoma Raceway. He quickly charged his way forward and secured the second spot 14 laps in. With two laps remaining in the stage, the No. 97 team opted to come to pit road and finished the first stage, seventh. Van Gisbergen had a dominate second stage, leading 25 laps. The No. 97 Red Bull team gave up the lead to come to pit road with two laps remaining in the stage, finishing seventh. Van Gisbergen continued to dominate the race in the final stage leading from the start until the No 97 team opted to pit on lap 83. Once the pit cycle was finished, van Gisbergen cycled back into the lead on lap 89. Van Gisbergen went on to capture his second victory of the 2026 season while leading 75 laps.

SVG: “What a day. We weren’t very good yesterday, and my team did an amazing job turning this car into a winner. The 19 (Chase Briscoe) was coming. He was really, really good, and I ran out at the end. But glad I had enough left at the end to get this incredible result. Thank you to Red Bull, Trackhouse, Chevy. Pretty special to make up for last week, too.”

Photos: SVG/Trackhouse FB

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