Shane van Gisbergen sends a message after avenging last year’s Watkins Glen loss to Chris Buescher

Shane van Gisbergen’s street racing prowess shone once again at Watkins Glen International, as the former Bathurst 1000 winner bagged his fourth victory of the 2025 season. One could say that it was a follow-up on the rookie’s defeat to RFK Racing driver Chris Buescher last year.

Starting second in Sunday’s (August 10) race, Gisbergen took the lead for the first time on Lap 25. He made his final pit stop with 27 laps to go. 10 laps later, Gisbergen was leading the entire field, and in the end, it all translated into an 11.116-second victory over Christopher Bell.

Reflecting on last year’s defeat, Gisbergen took to X and wrote,

“Well that made up for last year! Amazing day thank you to @WeatherTech and the @TeamTrackhouse 88 crew. Real special to have Dad and Ronald here too. Awesome.”

Shane van Gisbergen

@shanevg97

Well that made up for last year! Amazing day thank you to @WeatherTech and the @TeamTrackhouse 88 crew. Real special to have Dad and Ronald here too. Awesome 😀

Last year’s winner, Chris Buescher, bagged the Stage 1 victory, but didn’t have the car to outpace Shane van Gisbergen till the very end. He finished third, with William Byron and Chase Briscoe rounding up the top five. Winding up inside the top-10 were Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suárez, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain.

All things considered, 2025 is shaping up to be a stellar season for Shane van Gisbergen. He has four wins to his name already (all on road courses), a tally that many series veterans, including his teammates Chastain and Suarez, have not been able to reach yet.

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Shane van Gisbergen gets real about what he needs to do to make it through the postseason

Shane van Gisbergen made the playoffs in just his first full season in the NASCAR Cup Series, thanks to his maiden victory of 2025 at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City back in June. He now has five wins in only 38 career Cup Series starts, trailing Hendrick Motorsports duo Chase Elliott (7) and Kyle Larson (6) among the active drivers on road courses.

Notably, his latest victory came shortly after Trackhouse Racing signed a multi-year contract extension with the Auckland native. Only two weeks remain until the playoffs begin at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, August 31.

Reflecting on the same, Gisbergen said,

“Darlington I feel fine. I think you just have to have…especially now we have a lot of points, too, I think you've just got to have three solid weeks and you might get through. We just have to play the averages, make no mistakes, and make sure we're in a good spot every week, and who knows how far we'll get.”

Next up for the driver is a trip to Richmond Raceway on August 16. Named Cook Out 400, the 400-lap race happens to be the second-to-last event of the season before the playoffs kick off. Fans can watch it on USA (7:30 pm ET) or listen to live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.