Winning three straight road course races from the pole, SVG has proven that he’s a rare talent in any series.
For the second week in a row – and the third time in five weeks – Shane van Gisbergen has led a masterclass on high-level road racing. Quite a few folks in the garage have likely though to themselves “Once he figures out oval racing, we’re screwed.”
SVG’s corner-carving skills have allowed him to match a record set by one of the legends of the sport, Jeff Gordon. Gordon won three straight road course races from the pole position between 1998 and 1999. It took Gordon two seasons; it took SVG five weeks. There are a lot more road courses on the schedule now, and there are a lot more drivers in the field with road course experience. It likely seemed impossible for anyone to ever match Gordon’s tremendous accomplishment.
SVG coming to America and stomping the yard isn’t really a Cinderella story. The New Zealand driver has won 80 V8 Supercars races, enough to put him fourth on the all-time wins list. Three of those wins include the grueling Bathurst 1000, which takes place on Mount Panorama Circuit in new South Wales, Australia, on a 3.8 mile street circuit that includes a 571 foot difference between its highest and lowest points.
Simply put, there’s no other driver in the world, from any racing discipline, that’s quite as well suited to dominate road course races in the NASCAR NextGen car. As of now, SVG is seeded third in the playoffs, his three wins tied with Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Christopher Bell. If he survives into the second round, the cutoff race will be the Charlotte Roval. That’s rough news for the rest of the field.
Things haven’t been going so well with SVG’s Trackhouse teammates, however. By now we’re all aware that Daniel Suarez will not be back in the #99 car next season. While both parties have claimed that it was a mutual decision, it seems that Suarez is already racing his teammate, Ross Chastain, differently. While Chastain was lining up a divebomb pass in the treacherous Turn 11, Suarez moved to block Chastain, which resulted in Chastain bumping and turning Suarez.
Suarez was angry on the radio, having lost valuable track position. Unfortunately, when you throw a block like that – especially in one of the major braking zones on the track – that’s the risk you take. Like Chastain, Suarez celebrated his first Cup victory at a road course – Sonoma, in fact. He’s effectively racing for a job next year and trying to put on a good show for potential partners.
In other Trackhouse news, they’ve hired Todd Meredith from Joe Gibbs Racing as their new President of Racing Operations. Meredith had joined JGR all the way back in May of 1992, according to LinkedIn. He’d been there since the beginning and served as Vice President of Operations. Upstart teams like Trackhouse and 23XI have been proving they can run with the powerhouse teams like JGR, Penske, and Hendrick. They may very well represent the future of the sport.
Poaching one of the longest-tenured members of one of the sport’s most successful teams makes a major statement. In the years to come, as legendary leaders like Rick Hendrick, Joe Gibbs, and Roger Penske step away from the day-to-day grind of running their teams, it’s possible that new teams may emerge as the ones to beat in NASCAR. Trackhouse seems to be doing everything possible to ensure they are ready to capitalize should the opportunity strike.
Photo: Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle
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