In a short time in his profession, Shane van Gisbergen has established himself because the king of highway programs.
A veteran of V8 Supercars and GT Racing, van Gisbergen turned the primary driver since 1963 to win their Cup Sequence debut when he took the checkered flag in 2023 on the Chicago Road Course. Final season, his first in NASCAR’s top-level as a full-time driver for Trackhouse Racing, van Gisbergen received 5 races and made the playoffs.
Commercial
In all, the native of New Zealand has seven Cup Sequence victories on highway programs and 5 extra wins within the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Elements Sequence. He wants simply two extra victories to tie Corridor of Famer Jeff Gordon for probably the most profession highway course wins on the Cup stage (9) and AJ Allmendinger for probably the most throughout NASCAR’s high three touring collection (14).
van Gisbergen might attain that mark throughout the subsequent two weekends, however it received’t be straightforward.
First up on Sunday, June 21 is the Anduril 250, the place drivers will navigate a 3.4-mile highway course throughout Naval Base Coronado close to San Diego. It’s the primary time ever that NASCAR has raced .
“The difficulty spots are you begin at (Flip) 1 and depend to 16,” van Gisbergen stated after strolling the observe. “Each nook appears like somebody has had a difficulty. Each single part is its personal drawback. Yeah, I feel I’ve seen somebody make an error or do one thing mistaken in each.
Commercial
“I don’t assume there’s a risk of doing an ideal lap right here.”
Extra:
1 / 4
See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
March 8: Ryan Blaney celebrates profitable the Straight Discuss Wi-fi 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
(Meg Oliphant, Getty Photographs)
1 / 4
See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
March 8: Ryan Blaney celebrates profitable the Straight Discuss Wi-fi 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
(Meg Oliphant, Getty Photographs)
2 / 4
See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
March 1: Tyler Reddick celebrates profitable the DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
(Logan Riely, Getty Photographs)
3 / 4
See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
Feb. 22: Tyler Reddick celebrates profitable the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia.
(Mady Mertens, Imagn Photographs)
4 / 4
See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
Feb. 15: Tyler Reddick celebrates along with his household and crew after profitable the 68th operating of the Daytona 500 at Daytona Worldwide Speedway.
(Mike Watters, Imagn Photographs)
With the USS Carl Vinson offering a picturesque backdrop, drivers will full about 255 miles in 75 laps on Sunday. It’s the longest course for the Cup Sequence this season.
The observe blends collectively contemporary pavement, worn streets of the bottom, a tough tarmac the place jets land and even train-style tracks which can be used to information cranes on the ability. Drivers should navigate all that, some 16 turns, going uphill and downhill, and greater than 3,000 limitations that had been put in.
Commercial
NASCAR additionally put up 6.8 miles of walling and fencing. The course took 17 days to assemble.
“It’s going to be a very tough and technical course, numerous unknowns,” van Gisbergen stated. “It’s going to be an actual problem to have a automobile that works all type of surfaces and transitions to them.”
LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 13: Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #97 SuperFile Chevrolet, prepares to apply for the NASCAR Cup Sequence Nice American Getaway 400 introduced by VISITPA at Pocono Raceway on June 13, 2026 in Lengthy Pond, Pennsylvania.
Nonetheless, van Gisbergen is broadly considered as the favourite to win Sunday by each sportsbooks and his fellow drivers. He’s gone to victory lane in six of the final seven instances that the Cup Sequence has visited a highway course, most not too long ago profitable at Watkins Glen in Might by chasing down Ty Gibbs and Michael McDowell after a inexperienced flag pit cease to go on and win by greater than seven seconds.
Commercial
“I feel Shane’s background is the perfect background, which is V8 Supercars,” NASCAR veteran Brad Keselowski stated. “That is type of what they do. Related sorts of tracks.”
van Gisbergen additionally has a knack for capturing victories at locations that NASCAR has by no means gone earlier than, profitable that first Chicago Road Race in 2023, then taking the checkered flag on the highway course designed for Mexico Metropolis final 12 months.
However the 37-year-old driving the No. 97 Chevrolet doesn’t like all of the discuss him having a victory already wrapped up on Sunday.
“It pisses me off a bit,” van Gisbergen stated. “I really feel prefer it disrespects my competitors. I maintain my competitors at a very excessive stage. So, I really feel like I’ve spent the final couple of minutes speaking myself down as a result of I do know there are most likely 10 guys that may win on pure tempo, and in NASCAR, a lot stuff can occur in technique and phases that there are much more guys that may win. So, I don’t assume it’s going to be straightforward, that’s for positive.”
Commercial
Tyler Reddick received at a highway course earlier this season, besting van Gisbergen on the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. That was amid a three-race profitable streak for the driving force of the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing.
Reddick is a California native and presently the factors chief within the Cup Sequence standings with a 19-point benefit over Denny Hamlin.
“I’d like to win in my residence state,” Reddick stated. “We bought to determine if we’re going to have the pace to contend for the win or if it’s going to be about getting factors. That’s simply the tough factor about the place we’re at.”
1 / 8
Drivers with probably the most NASCAR Cup Sequence wins all time
2. David Pearson, 105 profession wins.
(DAYTONA RACING ARCHIVES)
1 / 8
Drivers with probably the most NASCAR Cup Sequence wins all time
2. David Pearson, 105 profession wins.
(DAYTONA RACING ARCHIVES)
2 / 8
Drivers with probably the most NASCAR Cup Sequence wins all time
3. Jeff Gordon, 93 profession wins.
(MATTHEW O’HAREN, USA TODAY SPORTS)
3 / 8
Drivers with probably the most NASCAR Cup Sequence wins all time
6. (tie) Jimmie Johnson, 83 profession wins
(USA TODAY Sports activities)
4 / 8
Drivers with probably the most NASCAR Cup Sequence wins all time
8. Dale Earnhardt, 76 profession wins.
(GETTY IMAGES)
5 / 8
Drivers with probably the most NASCAR Cup Sequence wins all time
9. (tie) Kyle Busch, 63 profession wins
(Jim Dedmon, USA TODAY Sports activities)
6 / 8
Drivers with probably the most NASCAR Cup Sequence wins all time
9. (tie) Denny Hamlin, 63 profession wins (by way of June 7, 2026).
(Peter Casey, USA TODAY Sports activities)
7 / 8
Drivers with probably the most NASCAR Cup Sequence wins all time
11. Kevin Harvick, 60 profession wins.
(Mike Dinovo, USA TODAY Sports activities)
8 / 8
Drivers with probably the most NASCAR Cup Sequence wins all time
12. Rusty Wallace, 55 profession wins.
(Dozier Mobley, Getty Photographs)
Hamlin is presently the most well liked driver within the sport in the mean time, having received three consecutive races for the primary time in his profession behind the wheel of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. The at Nashville, and Pocono during the last three weeks. Nonetheless, he hasn’t received at a highway course since 2016.
Commercial
Different challengers to van Gisbergen might embody Allmendinger, McDowell or Gibbs, plus reigning Cup Sequence champion Kyle Larson and his younger teammate, Connor Zilisch. The 19-year-old driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet for Trackhouse has seven wins on highway programs within the second-tier O’Reilly Sequence.
The race can even function a return to the Cup Sequence for , a . Whereas Johnson received at just one highway course in his Cup Sequence profession — in 2010 at Sonoma, the place drivers will head subsequent weekend — the El Cajon, California native will intention to placed on an excellent present for his hometown followers.
Making his NASCAR debut on this race can be , who will drive the No. 91 Chevrolet for Trackhouse.
“There are a variety of corners you don’t essentially need to mess around with, however it actually looks as if the floor in numerous areas is slick and grippy and a few areas wore out,” Reddick stated. “Everyone seems to be curious to see what the tempo evolution is as we proceed to rubber it in and the way a lot it’s going to decide up.”
Commercial
As NASCAR continues to innovate and take competitions to new locations, might the game race on one other army base sooner or later? Tim Clark, NASCAR’s govt vice chairman and chief model officer, hopes so.
“That was my first thought when this got here collectively,” . “Man, if we get this proper, how superior wouldn’t it be to take this throughout the nation to different installations and work with the varied branches within the army? So, to not get too far forward of myself, however I feel I feel there can be numerous excited individuals if this may very well be the primary of many.”
