Motorsports
Third-round matchups in NASCAR Cup In-Season Challenge at Sonoma
The upsets continued in the second round of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge, leaving eight drivers in contention for the $1 million prize. Ty Dillon, the No. 32 seed in the 32-driver event continued his run. After eliminating top seed Denny Hamlin at Atlanta, Dillon beat No. 17 seed Brad Keselowski last weekend at Chicago to move […]

The upsets continued in the second round of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge, leaving eight drivers in contention for the $1 million prize.
Ty Dillon, the No. 32 seed in the 32-driver event continued his run. After eliminating top seed Denny Hamlin at Atlanta, Dillon beat No. 17 seed Brad Keselowski last weekend at Chicago to move on to the third round.
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Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway will cut the field In-Season Challenge field to four drivers.
Here is a look, with the help of Racing Insights, at the second-round pairings for Sunday’s race:
No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 14 Zane Smith
How they got here
Gibbs eliminated Justin Haley (seeded 27th) at Atlanta and AJ Allmendinger (22) at Chicago.
Smith eliminated Austin Cindric (19) at Atlanta and Chris Buescher (3) at Chicago.
Follow the road: Gibbs has an average finish of 15.7 in three road course races this season, while Smith’s average finish is 26.0.
Rolling: Gibbs has five consecutive top-15 finishes, including two top-five results.
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Winner … advances to meet winner of Ryan Preece – Tyler Reddick matchup.
No 6 Gibbs vs No 14 Smith.jpg
No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon
How they got here
Bowman eliminated Joey Logano (25) at Atlanta and Bubba Wallace (9) at Chicago.
Dillon eliminated Denny Hamlin (1) at Atlanta and Brad Keselowski (17) at Chicago.
Matchup of opposites: Bowman is one of two drivers to finish in the top 10 in all three road course races this season (Shane van Gisbergen is the other). Dillon has not finished better than 20th in the three road course races this year. Bowman has seven top-10 finishes, including a win in his last 11 races on road courses. Dillon has never finished better than 15th in 28 Cup road course starts.
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Upset Special: The driver with the worse seed has won 11 of the 24 matchups so far, including Dillon’s two wins.
Winner … advances to meet winner of John Hunter Nemechek – Erik Jones matchup.
No 8 Bowman vs No 32 Ty Dillon.jpg
No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 20 Erik Jones
How they got here
Nemechek eliminated Josh Berry (21) at Atlanta and Chase Elliott (5) at Chicago.
Jones eliminated Ross Chastain (13) at Atlanta and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (29) at Chicago.
Familiar faces: This matchup pits Legacy Motor Club teammates against each other. At least the organization knows it will have one driver among the final four in the race for $1 million.
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Close duel: In the last eight races, Nemechek and Jones have each finished better than the other four times.
Winner … advances to meet winner of Ty Dillon – Alex Bowman matchup.
No 12 JHN vs No 20 Jones.jpg
No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick
How they got here
Preece eliminated William Byron (18) at Atlanta and Noah Gragson (31) at Chicago.
Reddick eliminated Kyle Larson (10) at Atlanta and Carson Hocevar (26) at Chicago.
Road course ringer: In the Next Gen era, Reddick is tied for the most road course wins (three) and poles (three) and ranks second in top-five finishes (nine) and top-10 finishes (14).
On a roll: Preece has five top-10 finishes in the last eight races. That is tied for the most top 10s in that span.
Winner … advances to meet winner of Ty Gibbs – Zane Smith matchup.
No 15 Preece vs No 23 Reddick.jpg
Motorsports
Justin Marks Leaves Proud Following Eventful Weekend for Trackhouse
By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer Nearly every multi-car organization in NASCAR experiences the ups and downs of auto racing every weekend. For Trackhouse Racing boss Justin Marks, however, this weekend at Watkins Glen International proved to showcase the highest highs and lowest lows in a matter of 24 hours. Saturday saw Trackhouse’s two top prospects, […]

By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Nearly every multi-car organization in NASCAR experiences the ups and downs of auto racing every weekend.
For Trackhouse Racing boss Justin Marks, however, this weekend at Watkins Glen International proved to showcase the highest highs and lowest lows in a matter of 24 hours.
Saturday saw Trackhouse’s two top prospects, Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch, race under the JR Motorsports banner and tangle for the lead. The contact led van Gisbergen into the wall and out of the race. Zilisch went on to win.
Moments later in Victory Lane, the 19-year-old fell while exiting his No. 88 and struck the ground, resulting in a broken collarbone and a withdrawal from Sunday’s Cup race.
And on Sunday, SVG brought home his fourth win of 2025, gapping second place by more than 11 seconds after leading 38/90 laps.
What. A. Weekend.
“A very eventful weekend, that’s for sure,” Marks said. “Some pretty high moments and then obviously a tough one last night.
“I think when you look back on weekends like this, it’s just like why we’re doing it. This is why we’re focused and working so hard in the race shop because we feel like we have a tremendous opportunity with Shane. We have a tremendous opportunity with Daniel [Suarez] and with Ross [Chastain] and then obviously with Connor coming up.”
Though Zilisch was unable to compete in what would have been his fourth Cup start in Trackhouse’s No. 87, he did attend the race alongside Marks, who explained his pride in seeing the Xfinity point leader learn all he could from the sidelines.
“I think it was important for him [to show up Sunday],” he said. “He sat in the bus with me today and we were watching timing and scoring together. I think that he doesn’t want to be away. He wants to be at the racetrack. His whole life is about being a racecar driver.
“For a guy like Connor, even if he’s not in the racecar today and he’s not feeling that well, he feels like there’s always an opportunity to learn something.
“I think he just wanted to show the fans and show the sport that he was upright and he was okay and he’s committed and he really wants to get back as fast as he can. I’m glad that he came today and showed that he’s a part of this company.”
Along with SVG’s victory, the first time a rookie has ever won four races, Trackhouse also had a triple top 10 with Chastain [10th] and Suarez [seventh], respectively.
READ MORE: PROJECT 91 PROGRAM ‘NOT DEAD’, SAYS JUSTIN MARKS
Between Zilisch’s showcase of commitment and van Gisbergen’s showcase of road course royalty, Marks leaves New York proud of his team’s strength.
“You look back and you go, we recognized incredible talent with Connor, made a commitment to him and helped him get an opportunity to showcase his talent. He did that yesterday,” he said. “Then today Shane just continues to go showcase why we’ve made a long-term commitment to him, why we brought him over here from New Zealand and built this team around him.
“Because, in a sport like this where winning is so important and it’s so hard to do, if you can catch some lightning in a bottle like we’ve got with SVG, you’ve got to really lean into it.
“That’s what we’ve done. You look at the weekend, and it’s like seeing a plan come together.”
Motorsports
What drivers said at Watkins Glen after another victory for Shane van Gisbergen
Shane van Gisbergen — winner: “What an awesome race. The last stint was a bit cleared out, but the battle coming back through I had a lot of fun. That’s the stuff you dream about, right? I’m just a very lucky guy to get to drive for an amazing bunch of people and just execute. […]

Shane van Gisbergen — winner: “What an awesome race. The last stint was a bit cleared out, but the battle coming back through I had a lot of fun. That’s the stuff you dream about, right? I’m just a very lucky guy to get to drive for an amazing bunch of people and just execute. The day went flawlessly, and I can’t believe it. Really enjoyed it. It ain’t going to be easy (in the playoffs), that’s for sure. The first round, there’s some very difficult left-handed tracks for me, but I’m getting better at it, and I’m enjoying myself. It’s a challenge. But that’s why we’re here, and we’ll have a proper crack. … (Blaney) was amazing. He was really good at the start; driving well and I couldn’t pass him. Then all the strategies happened through Stage Two. I think it was that restart in the final stage that got me up closer to the front, and we could run a bit longer. … I really think we are building, but we have got a lot more to go. It’s just a special moment here.”
Christopher Bell — second: “Happy, yeah. I’m thrilled. We’ve been struggling a little bit to find a rhythm. I feel like the car has been good but executing the races has been tough for us. Really awesome to have a good day. Frustrated to get our butts kicked by (van Gisbergen). He’s doing a really good job. That team has it going on. We need to find a little bit more but certainly happy. It was a good day.”
Bell ‘thrilled’ with runner-up finish at the Glen
Christopher Bell admits his team has struggled to “find a rhythm” lately and is “thrilled” with a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen that flexed his team’s road course program.
Chris Buescher — third: “Yeah, I’m really proud of everybody, to bring this Mustang back here and have this kind of speed. Last year we didn’t have to deal with the points side of things, so we brought a fast race car and made it happen. We had a really fast race car again, just definitely took the opportunity to capitalize on some big stage points there early. Still got back up into second there and was making some pretty good headway. But just used it up really hard trying to get by a couple cars and get to that track position, and fell off pretty hard there at the end. … We went for those stage points there, and it still put us in a good spot to be in contention here and really still be fighting for a win, just not close enough. But to head into the next two weeks, racetracks that we’ve won at, certainly not the best place to be, but to put some more points on the board, ultimately that just comes from fast race cars. Go to the next two weeks, be fast, and it should take care of itself.
William Byron — fourth: “Iit was really tough there at the end. To have to run 18 laps on those tires in practice was difficult, and then to put 36 laps on them, I was just hanging on there at the end. I learned a lot there at the end, just with how to conserve for the next time. The last 10 laps were really difficult, but glad we could get a top-five finish. I think we had a pretty good points day. The first stage didn’t go probably how we anticipated. I got really loose across the carousel and almost spun out. And then after that, I think we did a good job. We had a good strategy – the one stop ended up being really good. We were able to have some decent pace and it just worked out.”
Chase Briscoe — fifth: “I guess it would have been that final stage, just strategy kind of got flipped. (Shane van Gisbergen) and (Ross Chastain) and myself kind of started right there in the mid pack. The restart didn’t go me or the 1’s way, the 88 was able to get five spots ahead of us before of us on the first lap and kept pulling further and further away. I thought our car was – I don’t know what the 88 had – but I thought we were probably the second-best race car. That restart just didn’t go our way and we lost a lot of track position and obviously was able to play the long game there in the end and come home top-five. Overall, a good solid finish in a fast Camry. We will go onto Richmond and see what we can do.”
Ryan Blaney — sixth: “I just lost speed, handling and where the track was at probably a little bit and just lost in pace. But overall really good effort by our whole group, and I wish we could have finished a few spots better than that. But overall really good weekend and proud of the whole effort. Good showing on a road course for us. So I think that program is getting a little bit better. So hard to be too upset about the day. Looking at the points board, we scored a lot. But yeah, just a good day overall, well-executed day and kept track position and was able to win a stage and still had fifth until the last corner. So yeah overall strong weekend by this group. Hard-fought afternoon.”
Blaney happy with result despite losing pace
Ryan Blaney felt his car lose pace toward the end of the race at Watkins Glen but is happy he kept track position throughout the day for a “good showing” on a road course.
Daniel Suarez — seventh: “It feels nice to get a good finish for this No. 99 Chevrolet team. For the last couple of months, I feel like we’ve had decent, top-10 speed. We just haven’t been able to execute. Today, we were able to execute a decent race. This team did a good job all day. Our Chevrolet was pretty good – I don’t know if it was good enough to win, but it was good enough to be fighting in the top-10 and that’s where we ended up. (Watkins Glen International) has been good to me in the past. Like Iowa (Speedway) and Indianapolis (Motor Speedway), there’s been a lot of tracks that have been good to me in the past. We’ve just had a lot of accidents and things happen that were out of our control. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into the next couple of races and get a win.”
Bubba Wallace — eighth: “Indy was life-changing. It allowed me to come here and not harp on all of the mistakes that I usually make at a road course and figure out how to make less. I think we did that. I don’t think our car was capable of winning at all, but 10th to 12th place is where we determined our team is a couple months ago, and we exceeded that, so that’s a win. I appreciate everyone on this Toyota Camry. It looked good. My suit was the best one in the game. All around fun weekend. The big boss was here. MJ (Michael Jordan, co-owner, 23XI Racing) was here, so good to get him a couple of top 10s.”
Aug 10, 2025; Watkins Glen, New York, USA; NASCAR Cup Series owner Michael Jordan looks on from atop his team’s pit box during the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images
Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images
Tyler Reddick — ninth: “We were still struggling honestly. Everyone on the No. 45 Toyota Camry did a good job executing strategy. We faded pretty hard at the end there. It was good that it worked out and we were able to get a top-10 out of it, but yeah, we didn’t qualify good, and we couldn’t make any progress at the start. So very fortunate, but overall good points day.”
AJ Allmendinger — 11th: “Overall, I felt like we maximized our day. I wish we could have been a little bit faster all weekend. I’m proud of Trent [Owens] and the 16 group; we were able to make some good changes to be more competitive for the race. I messed up the strategy but honestly, I’m not sure how much that really impacted our race. We got stage points and earned an 11th place. We were hoping for better, but I’m proud of the effort from everyone to get the most out of our weekend.”
Austin Dillon — 15th: “Solid day at a road course for us. Watkins Glen International is probably my least favorite track we go to all year, so being able to fight for that finish and run right outside the top-10 towards the end is big for our No. 3 team. Our tires just gave up there in the closing laps. The guys did a great job on strategy, and our pit crew did awesome each stop. We will build off this good run going into Richmond.”
Kyle Busch — 22nd: “It was good to qualify in the top-five this weekend and our ECR engines showed a lot of power. The No. 8 Chevrolet was one of the fastest cars on the track through the first two stages and we were running at the front. We lost lot of track position at roughly the halfway point after on track contact and worked to make it back up and finished inside the top-25. Now we’ll focus on Richmond and racing our way into the playoffs.”
Motorsports
Heat doesn’t deter race fans as Will Power, Alex Palou put on a show in Portland IndyCar
1/27 BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland Sunday’s BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway showcased the brilliance of Team Penske’s Will Power and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou. It was a race dripping with historical implications on a beautiful 86-degree day. Power won for the second consecutive year at PIR, and third time […]

BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland
Sunday’s BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway showcased the brilliance of Team Penske’s Will Power and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou.
It was a race dripping with historical implications on a beautiful 86-degree day.
Power won for the second consecutive year at PIR, and third time overall, as he easily brought home the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevy — notching a win in an 18th season in his career and assuring that Team Penske wouldn’t go winless during a racing season for the first time since 1999. It was the 45th win in his career, which stretches back to the Champ Car World Series days that included starts at PIR.
“Good win for all the team,” said the Australian Power, 44, who has been rumored to be racing his final season with Team Penske. “Good hard fought win.
“I’ve had a great career with Verizon and Penske, and I’ve really enjoyed winning for the guys and everybody I’ve worked with for a long time.”
No attendance was released for Sunday race day. The front straightaway grandstands had plenty of empty seats. But recreation vehicles filled good spots on turns 4-8, and grandstand K at “Shelton Chicane,” turns 1-3, had few empty seats and pitched tents and partying went on pre-race.
Whether it be food carts and fun activities on the outside of the track, a deejay and cheerleading squad “Dirt Darlings” and fans walking through the pre-race grid inside, enthusiasm abounded. And the city of Portland worked with promoters to ensure fans would have access to cooling tents, misters and even a Blue Star bus for recovery from heat.
True to its mission, IndyCar attracts a lot of people from outside Portland for a weekend of fast fun.
Shaunna McCarthy of Vancouver, Wash. attended her second IndyCar race with Xavier Molina and Molina girls Olivia, 10, and Norah, 7. She wore checkered flag-patterned pants, and racing-themed attire, as the family checked out the pits.
“It’s amazing. The access (to cars, drivers) in the pits is amazing. Everybody is so friendly and chatty. And it’s very kid friendly,” McCarthy said. They all have their favorite drivers, but Olivia likes Pato O’Ward because “he wins and goes fast” (although not on Sunday, unfortunately).
Bellingham, Wash. friends Ken Adelstein and Matt Benoit have attended each race since IndyCar added Portland to the schedule in 2018. As they sat in the shade of their SUV behind grandstand K, they talked about how they “follow it all year long,” Adelstein said, of IndyCar.
They both raced go-karts that maxed out at 50 mph. “I can’t imagine the feeling of G force in the corners (in an IndyCar),” Adelstein said.
Said Benoit: “The sensation of speed is incredible. They’re cool to look at (the cars), and to see the raw speed and downforce.”
Brothers Mark Kieffer of Seattle and Steve Kieffer of Chicago meet at PIR every year for the IndyCar race and, like other fans, made record time putting up their tent in the infield behind grandstand K.
“No better racing in the country,” Mark said. The brothers said IndyCar has cool tracks — ovals, road course, street courses — and the open-wheel machines operate with such precision and speed.
And, perhaps one of the more enthusiastic fans sat atop the shoulders of her father Sunday. Bend’s Kurin Williams said he and Lindsey Folio’s daughter, 3 1/2-year-old Julia, watch all racing on TV, “when she can stay awake,” the dad said.
Williams, who annually attends the Long Beach Grand Prix in California, and daughter (who likes driver Scott Dixon) went to the Laguna Seca race at Monterey, California, recently, and camped. Folio, meanwhile, attended her first race Sunday.
“It’s neat to see all the transporters and cars, and you get to be close up with the drivers,” she said.
Jerry Jensen, VP/GM of Green Savoree Portland, said negotiations are underway on a new contract for a PIR race. He’s very optimistic.
“Overall it was a great weekend. Little on the hot side, and a lot going on with the (Clark County) fair and Bridge Pedal. It seemed like an active crowd. Healthy crowd.”
He said the RV sites were sold out.
The 28-year-old Spaniard Palou secured his fourth IndyCar championship and third in a row by virtue of his third-place finish, and O’Ward’s mechanical issue on lap 22 that forced the only driver still mathematically alive to be out for several laps. From there, it was Palou keeping up his speed; it got hairy when Palou tried to pass second-place Christian Lundgaard with a few laps left, as Palou went off the track between turns 6-7 only to recover and draw multiple, “What a save!” comments from TV announcers.
Palou settled for third behind Power and Lundgaard with his 12th top-5 finish in 15 races, and claimed the championship with a 151-point lead over O’Ward with two races to go (Milwaukee, Nashville). Palou sits at eight wins, and could still tie Mario Andretti (nine wins, 1969) and A.J. Foyt (10 wins, 1964) and Al Unser (10 wins, 1970) atop IndyCar’s all-time single-season wins list.
“I’m so glad we got it,” Palou said. “This year has been even more magical.”
He averted a catastrophe in trying to pass Lundgaard. “Today we wanted to win. We’re here to win. It didn’t work, gave it everything I had, did everything to overtake Lundgaard, but couldn’t do it today,” Palou said. Sitting next to team owner Chip Ganassi, Palou reacted to Ganassi holding up two fingers, meaning Palou could still win and tie for the all-time wins lead. “Hopefully we still get to 10,” Palou said.
It’s the 17th championship for Ganassi, tying him with Roger Penske for the all-time IndyCar lead.
Arrow McLaren’s Lundgaard had the fast qualifying time and had to overcome a starting penalty to finish second.
Meanwhile, IndyCar appears to be happy with the Portland race and Green Savoree Racing Promotions. But dynamics have changed now that Fox Sports now broadcasts every race but owns part of the series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Briefly
- Remarkably, there were no entanglements in the Shelton Chicane during the start of the IndyCar race. There were few incidents, although Conor Daly went off track and slammed into a tire wall after a dustup with Christian Rasmussen.
- Coolest IndyCar paint design? Had to be Felix Rosenqvist’s Honda and its Grateful Dead, tie-dyed design.
- Wilsonville’s Josh Pierson, 19, finished 11th in the Indy NXT at PIR on Sunday. He’s fifth in points. Series leader Dennis Hauger led all 35 laps to win the race.
- Race fans have another opportunity to take in the speed and sound of fast cars at the Nascar Xfinity Series’ Pacific Office Automation 147, Aug. 29-30. More: raceportland.com.
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Motorsports
Shane Van Gisbergen NASCAR Cup Series Watkins Glen
No one has been better on the road courses this year than Shane Van Gisbergen. The New Zealander continues to show why at Watkins Glen International. The No. 88 Chevrolet won the NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowl at the Glen on Sunday. “I’m just a very lucky guy to get to drive for […]

No one has been better on the road courses this year than Shane Van Gisbergen.
The New Zealander continues to show why at Watkins Glen International. The No. 88 Chevrolet won the NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowl at the Glen on Sunday.
“I’m just a very lucky guy to get to drive for an amazing bunch of people and just execute,” Van Gisbergen said. “The day just went flawlessly and I really enjoyed it.
Van Gisbergen, who started second in the race, has now won four of the five road courses this season. Unlike last year, he was able to hold off Christopher Bell and Chris Buescher handily this time, who won the road course in 2024.
“I gave that wall about half a meter this time and tried not to push too hard,” Van Gisbergen said. “That was definitely in the back of my mind, but I was not under pressure, so take it easy I guess.”
Van Gisbergen and his team’s strategy was to go for the win, which allowed Buescher to take the first stage, and Ryan Blaney, the pole sitter, to win stage two.
He led a race-best 38 of 90 laps, including the final 17, to give himself his first trip to victory lane at the Glen.
“The 12 was really fast at the start, and then we sort of split strategies,” Van Gisbergen said. “And at the end of stage three, I didn’t really know how it was going to play out.”
Next up on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway next weekend, before the regular season finale at Dayton International Speedway later this month.
Motorsports
Slush Motorsport Festival Roars Into Nashville Speedway
photo from Slush Motorsports Buckle up, Nashville. The Slush Motorsports Festival is back at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, September 13th, and it’s bringing serious horsepower to the track! This high-octane celebration of motorsports and custom car culture is set to feature top-tier racing talent alongside one of the region’s most exciting car shows—presented by Elite […]


Buckle up, Nashville. The Slush Motorsports Festival is back at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, September 13th, and it’s bringing serious horsepower to the track! This high-octane celebration of motorsports and custom car culture is set to feature top-tier racing talent alongside one of the region’s most exciting car shows—presented by Elite Customs of Franklin, TN.
“Elite Customs is thrilled to be a proud sponsor of the annual Slush Motorsports event,” said Rich McClellan, owner of Elite Customs. “Attendees are going to love every aspect—from the incredible cars on display to the wheel-to-wheel racing. I’m especially looking forward to judging the car show and seeing the creativity and craftsmanship up close.”
The Slush Motorsports Car Show, powered by Elite Customs, will showcase vehicles across 35+ categories, including imports, domestics, exotics, classics, muscle cars, trucks, Jeeps, motorcycles, and more. All makes and models are welcome, and one standout will take home the coveted Best in Show award. Attendees can view hundreds of stunning custom builds and vote for their favorites.
Car show participants can also take their builds on track with a driver’s pass, allowing access to high-speed driving experiences. Spectators and drivers alike will enjoy a full day of action, including drag and roll racing, autocross, drifting, hot laps, and 2-step competitions.
“Elite Customs is all about quality, precision, and passion,” says Slush Motorsports CEO Philip Thomas. “That’s why they’re the perfect partner to present the car show. Their builds speak for themselves. They truly understand the dedication it takes to create a show-worthy car. Elite Customs shares our passion for the community, craftsmanship, and the culture of motorsports.”
The festival is a playground for car lovers and adrenaline junkies alike. Professional driver appearances include Formula Drift Drivers Connor O’Sully, Hooman Rahimi and Alex Lichliter, all hitting the track. Other attractions include “Big Kid Energy” drift carts, Podium1’s state-of-the-art SIM racing rigs, a car stereo competition and the Cookeville Hobbies RC drift course, where attendees can bring their own RC cars to join the fun.
For event details, schedules, tickets, and more, visit SlushMotorsports.com.
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Motorsports
Rookie Shane van Gisbergen remains NASCAR’s king of the road courses with 4th victory of the season
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Shane van Gisbergen’s latest victory in NASCAR’s premier series was as historical as it was emotional. With his father, Robert, on hand for the first time this year, the Auckland, New Zealand, native set a Cup Series rookie record with his fourth victory, blowing out the competition again at Watkins Glen […]

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Shane van Gisbergen’s latest victory in NASCAR’s premier series was as historical as it was emotional.
With his father, Robert, on hand for the first time this year, the Auckland, New Zealand, native set a Cup Series rookie record with his fourth victory, blowing out the competition again at Watkins Glen International.
“It’s just amazing to have him here,” said van Gisbergen, who last saw his father while visiting home over the Christmas break. “It’s been a very tough, tough year for dad, and he hasn’t been able to travel, so to have him here for the next three weeks and share this with him, it’s amazing.”
As amazing as van Gisbergen’s rookie season in the Cup series.
The Trackhouse Racing driver joined 2020 champion Chase Elliott and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon as the only drivers to win four consecutive Cup races on road or street courses.
Unlike his prior wins at Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma, van Gisbergen was unable to start from the pole position after being edged by Ryan Blaney. After qualifying second, van Gisbergen bided his time and took his first lead on the 25th of the 90-lap race. He then settled into a typically flawless and smooth rhythm on the 2.45-mile road course.
“I’m just a very lucky guy to get to drive for an amazing bunch of people and just execute,” van Gisbergen said. “The day went flawlessly.”
The 36-year-old rookie made his final pit stop with 27 laps remaining and cycled into first place on Lap 74 of a clean race with only three yellow flags. Cruising to a big lead while leading the final 17 laps, van Gisbergen beat Christopher Bell by 11.116 seconds.
“I’m thrilled because we’ve been struggling a little bit,” Bell said. “Just trying to execute the races has been tough for us, so really awesome to have a good day. Frustrated to get our butts kicked by [van Gisbergen]. He’s doing such a really good job.”
With five victories in only 38 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series, van Gisbergen trails only Elliott (seven wins) and Kyle Larson (six) among active drivers on street or road courses. He also is the fastest to five wins in Cup since the legendary Dan Gurney, who won his fifth race in his 13th start in January 1968.
The win validated the decision by Trackhouse to sign van Gisbergen to a multiyear contract extension last week. Tied with Denny Hamlin for the series lead in victories, van Gisbergen holds the No. 2 seed in the playoffs with two races remaining in the regular season.
The first round will be held at three oval tracks, where the inexperienced van Gisbergen, who raced exclusively on road and street courses while winning three championships in the Australia-based Supercars, has an average finish of 26.9 this year.
“It ain’t going to be easy, that’s for sure,” van Gisbergen said of his playoff outlook. “The first round, it’s some very difficult left-handed tracks for me, but I’m getting better at it, and I’m enjoying myself, and it’s a challenge. That’s why we’re here, and we’ll have a proper crack at it.”
Playoff watch
Third-place finisher Chris Buescher improved to 34 points ahead of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing teammate Ryan Preece in the battle for the final playoff spot.
Buescher outdueled van Gisbergen on the final lap to win at Watkins Glen last year. His team tailored its strategy Sunday toward amassing stage points instead of following the win-oriented strategy used by van Gisbergen.
“Last year, we didn’t have to deal with the points side of things, so we brought a fast race car and made it happen,” Buescher said. “We had a really fast race car again, just definitely took the opportunity to capitalize on some big stage points early.”
Feisty Gibbs
It was another frustrating race for Ty Gibbs, who spun John Hunter Nemechek late in Stage 2 and then complained about the handling and strategy of his No. 54 Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing competition director Chris Gabehart, who recently began working as a strategist and consultant to Gibbs’ team, radioed the driver to “stay in the game” after the Nemechek wreck and later took issue after Gibbs questioned his team’s strategy.
“I’m sure you’ve got a real good understanding from inside the car,” Gabehart told Gibbs on the radio. “So you can call the strategy if you want, or we can keep rolling.”
Gibbs, the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, finished 33rd and remained winless since moving into Cup after winning the 2022 Xfinity Series championship. Teammates Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell have qualified for the playoffs with victories this season.
Up next
The Cup Series will race Saturday at Richmond Raceway, which will play host to its only NASCAR race weekend this season. The 0.75-mile oval had two annual races on the Cup schedule from 1959-2024.
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