Shane van Gisbergen is who they say he is after win at The Glen

TL;DR

Shane van Gisbergen won the race at Watkins Glen despite facing significant challenges, finishing over seven seconds ahead of Michael McDowell. The victory showcased his skill and determination under pressure.

Key points

Shane van Gisbergen won at Watkins Glen
He faced significant challenges during the race
Finished over seven seconds ahead of Michael McDowell
Pitted for fuel with 39 laps to go
The road course is 2.45 miles long

Shane van GisbergenMichael McDowellWatkins Glen

Motorsport photo

The deck was stacked against Shane Van Gisbergen and the Trackhouse No. 91 on Sunday at Watkins Glen but it simply didn’t matter.

A caution with 39 laps to go put ‘SVG’ and crew chief Stephen Doran into quite the predicament. If they stayed out, they faced long odds of making it to the finish line on fuel, especially if others came down and were chasing them down on fresher tires.

So they pit, but that meant the No. 91 would need to make up almost 30 seconds in 18 laps around the venerable 2.45-mile road course in upstate New York. It wasn’t even close and ‘SVG’ ultimately won by over seven seconds ahead of Michael McDowell, whom combined were the front row when the race began.

“I think it was 27 seconds (in) 20 laps, so I was a bit worried,” Van Gisbergen said. “Then their tires weren't going to get any newer, I guess. Once they fell off into the .75s (and) .76s, it was a pretty cool feeling.”

The likes of Ty Gibbs and Connor Zilisch, who stayed out during the caution for a Joey Logano tire carcass, were tasked with trying to race each other for the lead while also saving their tires and managing their fuels.

"He likes to be on offense"

Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing

‘SVG’ meanwhile was tasked with doing what he does best, go faster than everyone else on a road course, and Doran never had a doubt.

“He's made it pretty clear, especially at these tracks, he likes to be on offense, so we put him there,” Doran said.

From his standpoint, staying out ahead of Zilisch and Gibbs was never even a consideration.

“It really wasn't that tough,” Doran said. “Our guys were -- our engineers were telling me we're three laps short. And to save three laps at a road course was not something I was super interested in. I didn't want to get beat by somebody who was aggressive and chased us down.”