NASCAR CUP SERIES
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
AUGUST 10, 2025
Van Gisbergen Collects Fourth-Straight Road Course Win at Watkins Glen
- Shane van Gisbergen made yet another statement in NASCAR history – driving his No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to his fourth-straight road course win in NASCAR’s top division. The 36-year-old Auckland, New Zealand, native is just the third different driver to accomplish the feat – joining the company of fellow Team Chevy driver, Chase Elliott, and career Chevrolet driver, Jeff Gordon.
- Van Gisbergen’s victory – Chevrolet’s 23rd all-time at Watkins Glen and 11th thus far this season – brings the Trackhouse Racing driver to a tie for the title as the winningest driver in NASCAR’s top division with 24 races complete.
- With a 42-point day en route to his ninth top-five finish of the season, William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team built their points lead to a 42-point cushion over teammate, Chase Elliott, heading into the penultimate race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season.
- In pursuit of his fourth consecutive road course win in NASCAR’s top division, Shane van Gisbergen led the field to the green flag at Watkins Glen International from a front-row starting position. The road racing ace settled into the runner-up position behind polesitter, Ryan Blaney, on the opening lap – keeping the No. 12 in near sight throughout Stage One before surrounding the track position with three laps to go to flip the stage. Looking to capitalize on track position for stage points, Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team cycled up into the second position to lead Team Chevy to the first green-white checkered flag of the race.
- A disappointing qualifying effort carried into a dismal start to the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team’s attempt at becoming a three-time Watkins Glen winner when the team suffered a brake line failure on lap seven. Quickly going to work to make repairs, Larson was able to rejoin the field to start Stage Two.
- Taking the green flag for Stage Two from the fifth position, it took just five laps around the upstate New York circuit for Shane van Gisbergen to find his way to the top position in his No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Opting to flip the stage once again, Van Gisbergen found his spot in the 12th position to begin the final 46 laps of the race.
- To no surprise, it was a quick march up the field for the 36-year-old Auckland, New Zealand, native – ultimately taking the lead from then-race leader Ryan Blaney at the 54-lap marker. With a green-flag pit cycle getting underway at the halfway point of the final stage, crew chief Stephen Doran called Van Gisbergen to pit road with 27 laps to go in the race. Returning to the circuit, Van Gisbergen led the pack of cars that had already pitted – finding himself in the runner-up position when the race hit 20 laps to go. Then race leader, Brad Keselowski, made the turn to pit road for his final scheduled stop with 16 laps remaining – moving the No. 88 Chevrolet to the lead en route to the team’s fourth trip to victory lane in NASCAR’s top division this season.
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st – Shane van Gisbergen
4th – William Byron
7th – Daniel Suarez
10th – Ross Chastain
Chevrolet’s season statistics with 24 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
Wins: 11
Poles: 10
Top-Fives: 48
Top 10s: 103
Stage Wins: 20
UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Richmond Raceway with the Cook Out 400 on Saturday, August 16, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Post-Race Driver Quotes:
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 15th
“15th-place finish for our BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet. Solid day at a road course for us. Watkins Glen International is probably my least favorite track we go to all year, so being able to fight for that finish and run right outside the top-10 towards the end is big for our No. 3 team. Our tires just gave up there in the closing laps. The guys did a great job on strategy, and our pit crew did awesome each stop. We will build off this good run going into Richmond.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 22nd
“It was good to qualify in the top-five this weekend and our ECR engines showed a lot of power. The No. 8 zone Chevrolet was one of the fastest cars on the track through the first two stages and we were running at the front. We lost lot of track position at roughly the halfway point after on track contact and worked to make it back up and finished inside the top-25. Now we’ll focus on Richmond and racing our way into the playoffs.”
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 4th
There were a lot of strategies today. What was this race like from the driver’s seat with managing tires and all of the variables that were given to you?
“Yeah, it was really tough there at the end. To have to run 18 laps on those tires in practice was difficult, and then to put 36 laps on them, I was just hanging on there at the end. I learned a lot there at the end, just with how to conserve for the next time. The last 10 laps were really difficult, but glad we could get a top-five finish.”
What is the outlook now for the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team with two races to go in the regular season?
“I think we had a pretty good points day. The first stage didn’t go probably how we anticipated. I got really loose across the carousel and almost spun out. And then after that, I think we did a good job. We had a good strategy – the one stop ended up being really good. We were able to have some decent pace and it just worked out.”
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 1st
What were the challenges today and how did it unfold from the driver’s seat?
“Well, the No. 12 car was amazing. He was really good at the start; driving well and I couldn’t pass him. Then all the strategies happened through Stage Two. I think it was that restart in the final stage that got me up closer to the front and we could run a bit longer.
It’s amazing. Thank you to Trackhouse, Chevrolet, WeatherTech – all of our partners. To get four of these is very, very special.”
What are you going to do to prepare with a few weeks remaining before the playoffs starts?
“That is amazing, isn’t it? Obviously, Richmond is a track we need to build on – it’s kind of like Iowa, where we made some big progress. Then Daytona, we’ll see how we end up. I really think we are building, but we have got a lot more to go. It’s just a special moment here.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 7th
“It feels nice to get a good finish for this No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet team. For the last couple of months, I feel like we’ve had decent, top-10 speed. We just haven’t been able to execute. Today, we were able to execute a decent race. This team did a good job all day. Our Chevrolet was pretty good – I don’t know if it was good enough to win, but it was good enough to be fighting in the top-10 and that’s where we ended up.”
What is it about Watkins Glen that suits you so well?
“I’m not sure. This place (Watkins Glen International) has been good to me in the past. Like Iowa (Speedway) and Indianapolis (Motor Speedway), there’s been a lot of tracks that have been good to me in the past. We’ve just had a lot of accidents and things happen that were out of our control. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into the next couple of races and get a win.”
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