Shane van Gisbergen makes feelings known after ‘clean’ victory against JGR rival at Sonoma

Shane Van Gisbergen credited Trackhouse Racing for helping him hold off Chase Briscoe for a second straight win at Sonoma Raceway. Scoring back-to-back wins is a first in the 36-year-old's rookie NASCAR season, a feat that further cements his place among the sport's road course elites.

SVG began Sunday's (July 13) race on pole, much like his other two bouts at Mexico City and Chicago. He kept himself up front for a dominant 97 of 110 laps, conceding his lead only during his three pit stops.

With Stage 2 under his belt, the Kiwi driver had to contend with multiple cautions and restarts late in the race. Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe, who began on the front row alongside SVG, mounted a serious threat in the closing laps, but the latter cleared him off turn 2, and the rest is history.

Reflecting upon the same, Van Gisbergen spoke to the media post-race and acknowledged the JGR challenge.

"It's amazing. I had a great time, Trackhouse gave me a great car and to execute, make no mistakes, to hold them off at the end, it was fun and clean," he said (via X/PRNLive)

He went on to detail his duel with Briscoe.

"Chase (Briscoe) was driving really well. We had a lot of fun there. … On the last restart, I thought he (Briscoe) jumped a little bit. I was just trying to do what I could to get in position in Turn 2. That last one, I had to give him a bit of rub, but that was it," he added. (via Yahoo Sports)

Sonoma marks Shane Van Gisbergen's third win of the season, placing him alongside fellow three-time winners Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell. As such, he ranks behind them at fourth in the playoff standings.

With yet another road course coming up at Watkins Glen International, the rookie driver may even contend for a fourth win and enter the playoffs as the top-seeded driver. Considering how he'll also do double duty that weekend, we may get to see another thrilling duel between him and Connor Zilisch in the Xfinity Series.

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Shane Van Gisbergen wants to 'prove some people wrong'

After his Sonoma triumph, Shane Van Gisbergen reflected on his run from being a no-show on the ovals to now becoming one of the top-seeded drivers in the playoffs. He admitted that it was 'hard to believe', but remained focused on improving his oval game.

"Hard to believe that, isn’t it. I just have to thank these guys. We built up all year, got better and better, and now we need to keep getting better on the ovals and start proving some people wrong," he said via Speedway Digest.

Shane Van Gisbergen had a 59-point haul at Sonoma and jumped a spot on the driver's standings to land at 26th.