AUSTIN, Texas – Shane van Gisbergen is set to make history again this Sunday at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), where he will attempt to secure his sixth consecutive road course victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. His current streak has captured attention nationwide, as he competes on one of the sport’s most challenging road courses to extend his dominance built throughout the 2025 season.
Dominance on Road Courses Throughout the 2025 Season
In 2025, van Gisbergen led the field in points earned on road courses, accumulating 293 points with an average of 48.8 points per race—73 points more than his closest rival, Christopher Bell. The Kiwi driver finished the year by winning five straight road-course events, beginning with a commanding triumph at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, where he crossed the line 16.5 seconds ahead of the pack during the Cup Series’ inaugural race south of the U.S. border.
If van Gisbergen wins at COTA this Sunday, he will tie Jeff Gordon’s record for the longest winning streak on road courses in Cup Series history, which spanned from 1997 to 2000. Additionally, this sixth consecutive win would place him alongside Chase Elliott with seven total road course victories, the highest number among active drivers.
Kevin Harvick, I did an interview with him the other day and he brought that up. It’s a very different time with a lot more races per year, but as a crew last year, we had an amazing year, and it would be awesome to carry that on into this year.
– Shane van Gisbergen
Remarkable Margins in Recent Victories Highlight His Strength
Van Gisbergen’s wins last year were not just frequent, but decisive. Three of those victories featured the largest margins on road courses since 1996. Besides his dominant performance in Mexico City, he won at Watkins Glen International by 11.1 seconds and again by 15.1 seconds at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. This surge made the 2025 season the first since 1966 to record multiple road races with a gap greater than 15 seconds at the finish.
Strong Rookie Road Course Performance and Challenges at COTA
During his rookie year in Cup, van Gisbergen demonstrated his road racing skills by leading over half the laps in six road-course starts, consistently finishing in the top five 85% of the time. He spent only 5% of those laps outside the top ten, showcasing remarkable consistency. However, COTA has proven more elusive. Over two Cup starts on the track, van Gisbergen has yet to celebrate victory by kicking his signature rugby ball into the grandstands, a ritual following his wins.
His lone O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start at COTA in 2024 ended with a 27th-place finish after a contentious battle with Austin Hill and a penalty for cutting the course late in the race. Despite quick pace in NASCAR’s top series here, van Gisbergen admitted he has struggled to put together a full race without setbacks.
I like the place. I just haven’t managed to put a full race together,
he said.
I think every race I’ve done here in the NASCAR series, I’ve been reasonably quick, but for one reason or another, I haven’t managed to get it done.
Learning Curve Continues with Trackhouse Racing and Kaulig Racing
In 2024, van Gisbergen drove for Kaulig Racing at COTA but was penalized for speeding on pit road in Stage 2, which dropped him to 20th place. The previous year, his first race on COTA’s shortened layout saw him lead 23 laps before being pushed back, finishing sixth. That event also marked only the third occasion that Trackhouse Racing fielded a third full-time driver.
Last year, it was the third race again, so we were very new with Trackhouse,
van Gisbergen noted.
I made some mistakes and we weren’t really there yet as a team early in the year. Hopefully, that compounds and we’re a bit stronger this year.
Quickest to Seven Wins in Modern NASCAR Still Within Reach
As van Gisbergen prepares for his 53rd career start in the Cup Series, eyes are on him to become the quickest driver in the modern era to reach seven career Cup victories. His performance on road courses, combined with his relentless drive at COTA, highlights his potential to cement his place among NASCAR’s elite.
