Despite all odds stacked against him, Shane van Gisbergen and the Trackhouse No. 91 team delivered a masterclass performance at Watkins Glen on Sunday. 
A caution flag with 39 laps to go forced crew chief Stephen Doran into a difficult decision. Staying out would leave the No. 91 short on fuel, while pitting meant they had to claw back nearly 30 seconds in just 18 laps on the 2.45-mile road course in upstate New York. It turned out to be no contest, as Van Gisbergen crossed the finish line over seven seconds ahead of Michael McDowell, who had started on the front row alongside him.
“I think it was 27 seconds with 20 laps to go, so I was a bit worried,” Van Gisbergen said. “But their tires weren’t going to get any fresher. Once they dropped into the .75s and .76s, it felt pretty cool.”
Meanwhile, Ty Gibbs and Connor Zilisch—who stayed out during the caution caused by Joey Logano’s tire carcass—had to balance racing for the lead with conserving tires and fuel.
“He likes to be on offense” 
Van Gisbergen was simply asked to do what he does best: go faster than anyone else on a road course. Doran had no doubts about the plan.
“He’s made it very clear, especially on tracks like these, that he prefers to be on offense. So we put him there,” Doran said.
For Doran, staying out ahead of Zilisch and Gibbs was never a real option.
“It wasn’t a tough call,” Doran said. “Our engineers told me we were three laps short on fuel. And trying to save three laps on a road course wasn’t something I wanted to risk. I didn’t want to lose to someone who would chase us down aggressively.”
That someone could have been McDowell, who finished second, but never managed to get track position on Van Gisbergen.
“He just handles the bus stop better than anyone. We saw that in qualifying, and when I was behind him, I could see it,” McDowell said. “After qualifying, I thought I needed to go deeper into the corner, but my car didn’t recover over the curbs as well as his. So we have some work to do on our package. He comes off that second curb with so much control and momentum.
“I’ve said this before—I don’t think he’s unbeatable, but he’s very hard to beat because he executes so well and manages his tires perfectly. At a track like this with so much tire falloff, he’s tough.”
Van Gisbergen fully deserves the praise he receives for his road course prowess. Despite having two years of data and analysis, Cup Series drivers and teams still can’t replicate his technique.
Not bad for a driver who just turned 37.
“SVG’s best drive yet?” 
“I feel like this is one of the best races I’ve ever driven,” Van Gisbergen said. “Not many mistakes—it was a really cool feeling. My friends were giving me a hard time yesterday about getting old on my birthday, but I don’t feel old. I felt like that was the best I’ve ever driven. Pretty cool.”
That is high praise considering his impressive resume, which includes three REPCO Supercars championships and seven Cup Series wins.
