Latest news with #SVG
NZ Autocar
5 days ago
- Automotive
- NZ Autocar
SVG blitzes the field at Mexican road course
Shane van Gisbergen, take a bow. The Kiwi overcame the chaos and unpredictability of Nascar's first-ever Cup Series race in Mexico City. He also did it under a cloud of nausea. Despite that, the Kiwi gave a masterclass, finishing almost 17seconds ahead of second-place getter, Christopher Bell. NASCAR made its debut at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the first time in its almost 80-year history that a race was held in Mexico City. Van Gisbergen came out firing, snatching pole position. It underlined his reputation as one of the sport's most accomplished road course racers. With other aces like Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger, and Kyle Larson in the mix, the stage was set for a thrilling race. As the field navigated the first few corners on Lap 1, Van Gisbergen led cleanly. However, rain soon set in, triggering the first caution. The entire field bolted for wet tyres, and Chastain leapfrogged SVG in pit lane. Restart chaos ensued. Van Gisbergen briefly dropped back as Ty Gibbs surged forward, but the Kiwi had reclaimed second spot by Lap 6. A multi-car pile-up brought the next caution. SVG restarted alongside Gibbs and the battle resumed. Van Gisbergen finally pulled ahead, and from there began to assert himself. With the rain fading and the circuit drying, SVG had built a 13-second lead and made the call to pit early for slicks with four laps of Stage 1 to go. This positioned him well for the next stage. Starting from fifth in Stage 2, Van Gisbergen and Gibbs were soon in a tussle for the lead, also dicing with Suárez. After some cautions, Gibbs elected to pit under green with two laps to go; SVG stayed out and won the stage. The final 55 laps were all about SVG race management. At the restart, he briefly lost the lead to Bell but recovered quickly and retook control on Lap 52. From there, there was no one else in it. His lead grew lap by lap, and was soon out to six seconds. With 39 laps to go, rain again threatened but SVG opted to continue. Bell pitted with 38 to go, and SVG followed a lap later for his final stop. Seconds after rejoining, Carson Hocevar brought out a caution, handing SVG the net race lead once the rest of the field pitted. After the restart he surged away once again. With 16 laps to go, Van Gisbergen's lead was up to nearly six seconds. By the time the chequered flag flew, he was almost 17 seconds ahead of the rest. On a day that delivered everything, Shane van Gisbergen triumphed. He fought off illness and the elements and reminded the NASCAR world that when it comes to road courses, he's in a league of his own. 'What a week, I've really enjoyed myself,' said van Gisbergen. 'That last stint, man. What a pleasure. Unreal.'
Time of India
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
"Shane was clearly faster than me": Toyota's Christopher Bell opens up about coming short to SVG in Mexico City
Toyota's Christopher Bell opens up about coming short to SVG in Mexico City (Image Source: Getty) Christopher Bell came in second at the first NASCAR Cup Series race in Mexico City, but he admitted Shane van Gisbergen was better, saying, "When the race dried out, it was just a matter of comparing yourself to the guys up front. I got the lead at one point and Shane was clearly faster than me and drove back by. Yeah, close but not good enough. " Van Gisbergen won easily, and Bell is now thinking about how to get better. Christopher Bell says he needs to improve after SVG's win Shane van Gisbergen won the Viva Mexico 250 by a huge 16.5 seconds over Christopher Bell, leading 60 out of 100 laps. Bell, racing for Joe Gibbs Racing, started way back on the 31st because rain messed up qualifying. He worked hard to get to the front and even led for a bit, but van Gisbergen was just too fast, especially on the 15-turn, 2.4-mile track. Bell said he wasn't good enough to beat him and was disappointed with his form. Even though he lost, Bell was happy with some parts of his race. Rain early on helped him move up, and his team made a smart pit stop before a caution on lap 65, which got him to place second. Bell felt his car was only good for third, so second was a big deal. He wants to watch how van Gisbergen drives to learn and do better next time. Also Read: From Watermelon Fields to NASCAR Fame: The Unstoppable Rise of Ross Chastain Strategic moves and weather shaped Christopher Bell's race Rain at the start of the race gave Bell a chance to move up from his bad starting spot. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo His team switched to rain tires, and he passed many cars. They also made a clever pit stop before the first stage ended, which helped him get better track position later. By the second stage, Bell was in second place behind van Gisbergen, showing his car was strong. But when the track dried, van Gisbergen pulled away after the last restart on lap 69. Bell said his Joe Gibbs Racing team always gives him great cars for road courses, and he has a 1.5 average finish in the first two road races this season. He plans to study van Gisbergen's driving to get better at certain parts of the track. With more races coming, Bell is focused on improving. The next race at Pocono Raceway is a chance to try again and fight for a win.
TimesLIVE
5 days ago
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Shane van Gisbergen triumphs in Mexico City for second career NASCAR Cup win
Shane van Gisbergen overcame the serious adversity of travel issues and illness in Mexico and took it out on the NASCAR Cup Series field in a historic road-course race. Van Gisbergen led a career-high 60 laps and decimated the field in NASCAR's historic road-course race Sunday afternoon, winning the Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. The Auckland, New Zealand, native, who won three titles in the Supercar Series, clinched his second NASCAR Cup Series victory by easily distancing his No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet over Christopher Bell's No. 20 Toyota. The first-year full-time Cup driver won by 16.57 seconds in his 30th start and earned a spot in the 10-race postseason despite being 33rd in points entering the race. The season's second of six twisting layouts was the first points-paying international Cup event since 1958 when the series competed in Toronto. 'What a week, I felt pretty rubbish today,' said van Gisbergen, who called Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen for a few pointers before the 100-lap race. 'Our car was amazing. I think the 54 (of Ty Gibbs) was close. But that (last green-flag run), what a pleasure to rip lap after lap and watch them get smaller in the mirror.' Nicknamed 'SVG,' van Gisbergen said it was one of the best cars he has driven. 'It's certainly up there,' said the 36-year-old, who scored his first Cup win at the Chicago Street Course in July 2023. 'I've been privileged to have some great ones in my time. When I go slower, I lose my concentration. I just tried to stay in rhythm.' Daniel Suarez, his Trackhouse teammate and a Mexico native, finished 19th. Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell rounded out the top-five finishers. Subbing for last week's winner Denny Hamlin (birth of child), Ryan Truex was 23rd in his first Cup start since 2014. Hamlin's absence snapped his consecutive start streak at 406 Cup races, dating back to missing at Auto Club Speedway in California in March 2014. The 20-lap Stage 1 was marred right away as rain began to fall on Lap 1. That brought pole sitter van Gisbergen and almost the entire field to pit road for rain tyres, though Chris Buescher and Austin Cindric stayed on slicks to no avail. As cars slipped on the 3.89km, 15-turn track, Busch lost control of his No. 8 Chevrolet on Lap 7 and sparked a wreck in Turn 1 that also collected Kyle Larson, Zane Smith, Justin Haley, AJ Allmendinger and Chase Briscoe. With the rain ceasing in the segment's second half and van Gisbergen passing Ty Gibbs for the lead, the No. 88 driver built a five-second lead but pitted with two laps remaining to change back to slicks. Ryan Preece claimed Stage 1 and was followed by Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain. Gibbs' No. 54 Toyota led most of Stage 2, but he pitted with two laps to go. van Gisbergen beat Bell and Bowman for the segment win at Lap 45. With van Gisbergen having already pitted, the battle between the 88 and 54 took a twist when Carson Hocevar brought out a caution in a blind corner on Lap 66. That caused Gibbs to finally pit, lose multiple positions and end his chance of earning his first Cup victory.
Fox Sports
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Queasy Shane van Gisbergen 'leaking out both holes' powers through to win at Mexico
MEXICO CITY — A four-day stretch that in some ways couldn't have gone much worse culminated in an afternoon that couldn't have gone much better for Shane van Gisbergen. Mired in 33rd in the NASCAR Cup Series standings and struggling in a rookie season, van Gisbergen captured the inaugural Cup race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as the Trackhouse Racing team overcame travel woes that resulted in them only having a partial crew for practice Friday. "Crazy weekend and everyone dug deep," van Gisbergen said. "Everyone banded together. Those engineers arriving yesterday right before qualifying and the night before mechanics — it was a skeleton crew really on Friday. "Credit to everyone who banded together and came up with a plan. And it ended up amazing." It didn't come as easy as the margin of victory of 16.567 seconds, the largest gap between a winner and second place in a Cup race in nearly 16 years. The three-time Supercars champion, in his second year of racing in NASCAR, battled sickness that he said had him feeling "pretty rubbish today leaking out both holes." Despite the sickness, van Gisbergen's dominance didn't surprise many. — A stout road racer, he won in his first Cup start in 2023 when he prevailed at the inaugural Chicago street course race in a one-off event for Trackhouse Racing. That started conversations for van Gisbergen to move from New Zealand full time and compete in NASCAR, where he raced primarily in the Xfinity Series last season. Having won the pole on Saturday and knowing he had a solid car, van Gisbergen said he felt queasy during the first stage of the event Sunday on the 15-turn, 2.42-mile road course before medication kicked in for the remainder of the 100-lap race. "The first stint, I was feeling pretty average," van Gisbergen said. "I was like, 'This is going to be a long race. ... I looked at my watch and my heart rate, and I needed to calm down a bit. I kind of had to manage myself, whereas normally it's just push flat out without a think of the fitness." While he led 60 of the 100 laps, van Gisbergen did need the cautions to fall his way to align with when he put on tires and took fuel. They did, allowing him to lead the final 32 laps. "The car was obviously OK, but he's unbelievable," said SVG crew chief Stephen Doran. "It's amazing to watch him race at tracks like this." Doran didn't have too much of a concern that van Gisbergen's illness would significantly impact his performance. But it was a little unknown as van Gisbergen said the illness came quickly Saturday afternoon and evening. Having traveled extensively, van Gisbergen said he tried to be careful with what he was putting in his body during the weekend. "My mind was clear but my body, I just had so much pressure in my stomach," van Gisbergen said. If van Gisbergen was in pain during the race, he didn't indicate it to his team. "I just kept reminding him to keep drinking some fluids," Doran said. "He had some little squeeze packs of energy pouches in the car with him. I could tell by his tone that he wasn't struggling too bad once he got racing." Everyone in the facility could tell he had the dominant mix of machine and skill. "I just need to work on myself a little bit, figure out what Shane was doing through a couple sections of the race track," said second-place finisher Christopher Bell. Daniel Suarez, teammate to van Gisbergen, said SVG had a solid setup. Suarez came in as the home country favorite and had delighted the crowd by winning the Xfinity Series race on Saturday. Starting 10th, Suarez finished 19th, a result of not being fast enough (losing speed on the long green-flag runs) and the cautions not coming out at times that would match his strategy. "We don't have exactly the same race cars," Suarez said. "We have different [geometry], different springs, so the cars are not the same. And then the strategy — today the strategy didn't work out. "Do I think that with the same strategy I was going to beat him? I don't know. It's impossible to say. ... We just have to continue to work, and hopefully we get better enough in the next 10 weeks to make it into the playoffs." The playoffs. For van Gisbergen, the victory vaulted him into the 16-driver playoffs despite his points position. The only way he would miss the playoffs is if there are more winners than 16 playoff spots (van Gisbergen was the 10th winner this year and 10 races remain in the regular season) as points are used as the tiebreaker. "That's why I'm here, to win road races," van Gisbergen said. "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." In the first 10 oval races this year, van Gisbergen finished once in the top 20. In the four oval races leading into Mexico City, van Gisbergen earned three top 20s. So it appears he has made progress. Slow progress but progress, nonetheless. That doesn't mean it hasn't been a frustrating year. But van Gisbergen is known as someone who will fight through the struggles. And the victory Sunday amid sickness appears to be no exception. He had no plans of going to sleep or taking more meds. "I'm going to mix some Red Bulls with some adult beverages," he said. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Get more from NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Shane van Gisbergen stuns in record 16+ second NASCAR Cup win in Mexico
Sunday in Mexico City, Shane van Gisbergen (SVG) was nearly unstoppable, driving off with the victory by almost 17 seconds. Christopher Bell finished second and Chase Elliott third, but neither could even see the Trackhouse Racing Team driver at the checkered flag. The weekend started with aircraft issues that delayed his arrival to Mexico City and on Sunday morning, he had to cancel an appearance with NASCAR on Prime as he battled an illness. But none of that would deny him the victory on Sunday in a race that even featured a stint in the rain. Advertisement "What a week," said Van Gisbergen "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." Watch: 'That was epic': SVG describes how his race-winning car felt all day On the radio communication to slow down, which SVG refused to do, he explained that "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. The final run of the race lasted over 30 laps, but SVG managed it to perfection, ensuring no one could challenge him. The New Zealand driver now has two victories in the Cup Series with the first coming in the inaugural running of another event -- the 2023 Chicago Street Course. This win vaults him from 33rd in the standings to the playoffs, joining teammate Ross Chastain, who won the Coca-Cola 600. Advertisement Behind the podium finishers, Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell filled out the top five. John-Hunter Nemechek, Chase Briscoe, Cole Custer, William Byron, and Chris Buescher rounded out the top ten. Stage 1 Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet The initial start was clean as the Trackhouse teammates worked together with SVG leading the way over Chastain. However, the caution flag flew for rain falling down on the track. While most of the field pitted for wet-weather tires, Cindric and Buescher boldly chose to stay out on slicks. In the chaotic restart that followed, Gibbs managed to take the lead while Cindric and Buescher dropped through the pack. Advertisement Kyle Busch lost control under braking on the approach into Turn 1, spinning wildly out of control. He slammed into Kyle Larson, Justin Haley, and A.J. Allmendinger. Both Chase Briscoe and Zane Smith were also collected. Busch was unable to continue while Larson spent a third of the race in the garage making repairs. On the restart, it became a battle between SVG and Gibbs for the top spot with SVG prevailing, but he ultimately gave up the stage win in favor of short-pitting. Gibbs followed suit, allowing Ryan Preece to claim the stage win. Stage 2 Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota SVG was fifth for the start of the second stage, leading those who switched back to slick drivers. The front four were all on used wets and they were not able to hang on for long. But it was all part of the plan as they planned to pit a few laps later anyway. Advertisement Halfway through the stage, Ryan Truex (filling in for Denny Hamlin) went for a spin, causing a caution. Van Gisbergen went on to win the stage as Gibbs chose to pit just before the stage break. Stage 3 General view General view The beginning of the final stage was hectic, with lots of contact and several cars spinning. Chastain, Stenhouse, Hocevar, Preece, and Truex all lost ground due to spins or notable incidents. On Lap 62, the final round of green-flag pit stops began with Bell ducking to the pits. Van Gisbergen followed suit two laps later, but before Gibbs could pit as well, everything changed. Hocevar went for a spin in the final corner and stalled, forcing a yellow flag that proved costly for Gibbs. SVG cycled back to the race lead and avoided the restart chaos behind him, quickly pulling away from the field. Advertisement And while drivers fought over the lesser positions and there were some minor incidents, the caution flag never flew again. Of note, Hocevar and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had another run-in, despite recent comments from the Spire Motorsport driver promising to back down the aggression. After the race, Stenhouse stuck his head into the window of Hocevar's car and appeared to shout at him. To read more articles visit our website.
