Shane van Gisbergen came close to making NASCAR Cup Series history on Sunday at Circuit of The Americas but ultimately finished second, narrowly missing the chance to tie Jeff Gordon’s record of six consecutive road course victories. Van Gisbergen challenged Tyler Reddick in the closing laps of the DuraMax Texas Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne, but Reddick maintained his lead on the final restart with 16 laps left, crossing the finish line 3.944 seconds ahead of the Trackhouse Racing driver.
Race Recap and Performance Highlights
Starting 13th on the grid, van Gisbergen led two laps during the race and drove his No. 97 Safety Culture Chevrolet aggressively throughout the event. Despite his strong effort, he was unable to surpass Reddick, who claimed his third consecutive win to begin the 2026 season. Van Gisbergen reflected on the intense competition:
“It’s weird to be disappointed with second, but yeah, this series is just at a high level,”
van Gisbergen said.
“I felt OK. We got our Safety Culture Chevy a lot better than yesterday, but just following Tyler, his driving was immaculate, and his car was very good too. I tried but didn’t quite have enough. But still a great points day for the 97.”
Recent Form and Upcoming NASCAR Events
This result adds to van Gisbergen’s recent consistent performance, marking two straight top-10 finishes after placing sixth at EchoPark Speedway the previous week—the Kiwi’s best oval result to date. The series is set to shift focus to oval racing next weekend with a race at Phoenix Raceway, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET, and broadcast on FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Looking Ahead in the NASCAR Cup Series
Although Shane van Gisbergen’s streak of road course wins has come to an end, his strong showing signals continued competitiveness in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series. With more races ahead and a transition to traditional oval tracks, the team and driver are poised to build on this momentum and pursue further victories.
