It’s all but become the new normal in the NASCAR Cup Series. Until someone else gets it figured out, Shane van Gisbergen will continue to stack wins on the road courses. Sonoma was yet another playground for the New Zealand driver. However, his dominant performance was once again highlighted by drama both on the race track and off of it.
Pit Road Fights, Drama on Racetrack Highlight Shane van Gisbergen’s Win at Sonoma
SVG once again put his No. 88 Chevrolet on the pole, for the second-straight race, and third road course race in the last month. From there, the race was all but decided. The now four-time Cup Series race winner, van Gisbergen, left everyone else in the dust. Which could have easily defined this year’s Toyota/Save Mart 350.
Not only did he win on Sunday, but he also led 97 of the 110 laps. That was quite a performance, to say the least, as it also broke a record held by the sport’s best road-racer of all time, Jeff Gordon. He’s starting to put his name up there with Gordon and Tony Stewart. Don’t blink, their marks could very well be in jeopardy.
And There’s a Fight?
While SVG was kicking butt at the front, a little bit further back, things were getting a little heated. While drivers like Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott were making their way forward. Ty Gibbs was going backwards. Besides getting off track on several occasions heading into turn two, and causing issues for cars behind him, with the dirt. Gibbs eventually slipped back to RFK’s Chris Buescher. The pair eventually made contact, but that’s not the real story here.
When Gibbs came to the pit road for his first pit stop, he came awfully close to hitting Brad Keselowski’s tire carrier. While the two cars crews were able to service their respective cars. A confrantion between a Gibbs crewmember and the Keselowski Tire carrier ensued in the middle of a green flag race.
The video shown on replay from the No. 6’s box showed the whole incident. Gibbs didn’t respect the space of Keselowski’s team, and they showed their displesure with the incident.
Video of the Keselowski-Gibbs crew confrontation. https://t.co/n6ruiI5h29
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 13, 2025
It certainly looked like something that Gibbs should have been penalized for, but NASCAR didn’t agree, nor did the commentators for that matter. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t good driving on Gibbs part.
Off-Roading Was The Moral Of The Story
Along with the pit-road incident, plenty of drivers had some off-road incidents. One of the craziest was when Buescher and Ryan Blaney had a run-in heading into turn one. The contact resulted in Blaney getting stuck on the incline heading up the hill in the dirt. That wasn’t the only contact during the race, as the final stage saw someone flip a switch, as yellow flags started to rain down.
Here’s a quick recap of the off-roading challenges of the day.
You had Gibbs get off course several times, and Carson Hocevar went bajaing during the race. Not to mention two wrecks with less than 15 laps to go that saw Noah Gragson end up with his car destroyed. Then came the final wreck with six laps to go. Ricky Stenhouse Jr found himself shipped in turn eight. Those last two incidents killed a chance for Chase Elliott to use his new tire strategy to try and catch van Gisbergen. Elliott had to settle for third behind SVG and Briscoe.
Read More: EchoPark Speedway Is King of Draft Tracks, and Chase Elliott’s Last Lap Pass Proved That
The Final Four Is Set
One way or another, the final four is set for Dover, as Ty Gibbs will face Tyler Reddick on one side of the In-Season Challenge, while a major surprise in Ty Dillon will face John Hunter Nemechek. The biggest underdog of all time in Dillon once again pulled an upset on Sunday, as he slipped past Bowman in the final corner to secure his spot in the next round.
A bold move to make the semifinals! @tydillon moves @Alex_Bowman to advance in the In-Season Challenge! pic.twitter.com/qdylBL60RS
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 13, 2025
Sure, it was a bit of a dirty move to some, as he knocked Bowman out of the way. When you think about it, at this rate, what Dillon has done in this challenge has been fun to watch. For many in the field, thankfully, it’s back to the ovals. But ya never know what the Monster Mile will bring.
Read Next: Dazzling Performance Sees Connor Zilisch Best SVG in Xfinity Series Race at Sonoma
Main Photo: Chris Graythen, Getty Images
Recording Date: 7/13/2025
