Shane van Gisbergen Was "Really Bad" Yesterday, But Then Won Sonoma and Nobody's Ready For It

Holy smokes, what a wild Sunday at Sonoma! If you thought Shane van Gisbergen was just gonna cruise to another road course win, you clearly weren't paying attention. This dude, who literally just became the winningest active Cup Series driver on road and street courses, dropped a bombshell: his No. 97 Chevrolet was "really bad yesterday." Seriously? The guy who just snagged his second consecutive victory at Sonoma Raceway, after leading 74 of the final 83 laps, says his car sucked a day earlier? Talk about a turnaround, and talk about a driver who can just *drive*!

How Bad Was "Really Bad"? Good Enough to Win, Apparently

SVG, our New Zealand wheelman, started sixth on that twisty 1.99-mile road course, but once he got out front, it felt like business as usual. He had to fend off a serious charge from Chase Briscoe, which sounds like an epic battle we all crave. You know how frustrating it is when your Seahawks or Kraken look off, then pull it together? That's what SVG's team did. He gave massive props to his crew, saying they did "an amazing job turning this car into a winner." He even admitted Briscoe was "really, really good, and I ran out at the end. Yeah, a couple more laps, we would have had some problems." That's high-stakes racing, folks! SVG now has eight career wins on road and street courses, breaking a tie with 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott. He even moved up three spots to 14th in the points standings, grabbing a provisional spot in the Chase. What a performance!

Briscoe's Heartbreak and the In-Season Challenge Shoc

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ker But man, you gotta feel for Chase Briscoe. For the second year running, he finishes second to van Gisbergen at Sonoma, this time by a razor-thin 0.357 seconds. He was kicking himself, too, admitting he made a mistake getting his No. 19 Toyota into Turn 1 with only four laps left. Briscoe felt he had the better car and it was his own fault they didn't win, calling it a "razor's edge" situation where he "about crashed." Against a guy like SVG, you absolutely have to be perfect, and Briscoe knows it. Meanwhile, in the In-Season Challenge, things went wild again. For the second year straight, the top seed got bounced in the first round! Tyler Reddick, who was leading the Chase standings after winning the Daytona 500, finished 36th and four laps down due to a power steering problem. That handed a walkover to Alex Bowman, who finished 10th and was the 32nd seed despite missing four races with vertigo. Wild! Reddick salvaged a point by setting the fastest lap after repairs but fell a point behind Denny Hamlin in the Chase standings. Talk about a tough break!

What's Next for SVG and the Chase?

So, what does this mean for our road course king? Well, here's the catch: there are no more road or street courses left in the final 18 races of the season. SVG, who only entered NASCAR three years ago, has to step up big time on the ovals. He said it himself, "This is an oval championship, and I need to keep getting better at them." Can he diversify his skillset and keep that Chase spot? We're all gonna be watching that one closely. With Reddick falling in the Chase standings and SVG eyeing bigger things, the next few races are gonna be insane!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.