Shane van Gisbergen Humbles NASCAR Garage With “EPIC” 16+ Second Win at Mexico City

Trackhouse Racing driver Shane Van Gisbergen produced a masterclass performance to win in the inaugural Mexico City Cup race.

Shane van Gisbergen Humbles NASCAR Garage With “EPIC” 16+ Second Win at Mexico City

Shane van Gisbergen win at Mexico (Via @TeamTrackhouse/X)

The 2023 Cup Series season witnessed the debut and crowning of NASCAR’s most successful New Zealand racer ever, with Shane van Gisbergen as he won the inaugural Chicago Street race. This started a new career pathway for the three times Supercars champion as signed with Trackhouse Racing, becoming a full-time stock car racer. Now, he has secured his maiden win as a full-time racer.

In the first NASCAR Cup Series in Mexico City over seven-decade, Shane van Gisbergen produced a clinical performance, to humble rest of the garage with 16+ second lead to the victory. Second place finishing Christopher Bell and third place Chase Elliott weren’t even in the frame when SVG took the checkered flag. Other than Ty Gibbs at the start of the race, no other driver gave the veteran a significant challenge in the race.

What a week. I’ve really enjoyed myself here. I felt pretty rubbish today leaking out both holes. That wasn’t fun. Thank you to SafetyCulture, Trackhouse, Chevy, and ECR engines. Our car was amazing. I think the #54 [Gibbs] was close, but that last stint, man, what a pleasure just ripping lap after lap and watching them get smaller in the mirror. Unreal.

Shane van Gisbergen said via Motorsports.com.

What makes the victory makes more special is the fact that he was feeling under the weather ahead of the race and had to take medication before the race. There was also the charter flight issue that left him with a skeleton crew in the qualifying. But nothing was enough to end SVG’s inaugural race winning streak in the Next-Gen era.

Being more experienced in road courses than any other Cup drivers, he took the chances on every turn of the race and even when his crew chief Stephen Doran asked him to slowdown a bit. He refused to do, believing it will hurt his focus and momentum. Hence, he kept on speeding, his crew helped him remain clam and secure an epic victory.

When I go slow, I just lose concentration, so I was trying to stay in a rhythm and a routine, and Josh [Williams, spotter] and Stephen [Doran, crew chief] are doing such a great job keeping me calm and focused. Man, that was epic.

Shane van Gisbergen added.

Shane van Gisbergen doesn’t want to just win road course races

Strating with this weekend, NASCAR is in a road course stretch with three more races coming in the next four weeks, namely Pocono, Chicago and Sonoma. This gives massive advantage to SVG, compared to all the other drivers, with the Trckhosue being the benchmark for road course racing in the Next-Gen era.

Shane van Gisbergen at Mexico City (via Imagn)
Shane van Gisbergen at Mexico City (via Imagn)

Talking about this factor, van Gisbergen admitted that he was signed to win road course races. But that doesn’t mean his average form in Ovals is okay, as he wants to perform the top level in those tracks as well. The recent performance suggest that he is on the right track to perform on the level as his teammates Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain.

That’s why I’m here, to win road races. But I’m not here to run last on the ovals, either. I need to keep getting better to justify being a Cup Series driver. I need to be performing on the ovals, too. I feel like we’re really making strides, but this is what I’m here to do – make the playoffs, put another Trackhouse car in the playoffs.

Shane van Gisbergen said.

The comments from the Kiwi racer shower he is determined to show his class and produce elite level performance in all the NASCAR tracks, like he has been doing in his dominant years in the Supercars. It would be interesting to see how the Mexico win is going change the 2025 Cup season for the star racer.

Also Read: Bubba Wallace “Cried for Amigo Daniel Suarez” After the Mexican’s Impressive Xfinity Race Win