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Home NASCAR

‘A lost cause’: SVG sheds light on Sonoma close call

Sonoma race winner Shane van Gisbergen believes he was merely a matter of laps away from losing the lead to Chase Briscoe.

Simon Chapman
Simon Chapman
29 Jun 2026
Simon Chapman
//
29 Jun 2026
// NASCAR
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‘A lost cause’: SVG sheds light on Sonoma close call
Shane van Gisbergen stands atop his Chevrolet Camaro after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma. Image: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

The Trackhouse Racing driver controlled the contest from the start of Stage 2 until the end of Stage 3 despite a late run by his Joe Gibbs Racing rival.

Briscoe came within touching distance of van Gisbergen at the final hairpin before taking the chequered flag.

All told, van Gisbergen led 74 of the 110-lap race distance.

Although there was no duel between the top two, van Gisbergen said he was in serious strife towards the end.

“I thought we were a lost cause,” said van Gisbergen, who finished just 0.357s clear of Briscoe.

“The guys did a great job making setup changes. As soon as the race started I still felt average, but I saw other people had similar issues or worse. Then that gave me confidence.

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“Stephen (Doran, crew chief) made great calls all day and that group did an amazing job with the strategy and where I’d come out.

“Even that last stop, coming out in front and being able to manage my tyres and manage that gap, it was really cool.

“There was a lot of pressure at the end. Chase was really fast and thought I was good mid-stint when I was going easy and leading, managing to gap him.

“Then the last 10 laps, I was really in a world of hurt. It got pretty tense at the end.”

Briscoe cost himself valuable time in the closing laps when he overshot the first turn and gave up ground to van Gisbergen.

He was left to wonder what could have been, lamenting his mistake that he said ultimately cost him a shot at the win.

Briscoe admitted it was “odd” that he was able to get close to challenging van Gisbergen’s lead.

“Not many people get that close to him at the end of one of these road course races,” said Briscoe.

“Just frustrated. I definitely felt like I had the better car. I didn’t do as good a job as he did driving.

“I just made a mistake with three or four to go getting into [Turn] 1. I was having to push so hard and that was where I would make up ground.

“It was such a razor’s edge. I just about crashed. I gave up, I don’t know, let’s call it a second – and then was able to run him back down at the end.

“If I don’t make that mistake, I’m probably ahead of him I feel like at the end.

“Just bummed. At the end of the day, it’s my fault we didn’t win, but I had an amazing car. James (Small, crew chief) and the group did an amazing job.

“Frustrated I didn’t win with the best car. You’ve got to be absolutely perfect.”

The driver of the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry had a sniff at victory in the closing laps when the #97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro came upon lapped traffic.

In fact, it was van Gisbergen’s former teammate Daniel Suarez in the #7 Spire Motorsports Camaro who proved to be the cork in the bottle.

Recounting the final laps, van Gisbergen said he worried the win would slip away.

“I still think we have an edge sometimes, but certainly today we didn’t have the strongest car,” van Gisbergen explained.

“Chase was really good here last year too. We had to battle him for the win.

“I felt good for a while and then with 10 laps to go I started feeling my tyres start to slip.

“I think he (Briscoe) made an error with four or five to go. Then the next lap I just saw the gap eating away and I started shitting myself.

“The #7 came out in front of me and he was just wobbling all over the place and dropping wheels and I thought, ‘Oh, he’s saving tyres’, but then he kept going off.

“I don’t know what was happening. Every time I’d see him go off, then I’d slip the next corner on his dirt, so that was a pain in the arse – but yeah, it happens.

“If there was a lap or two more, he would’ve been closer,” said van Gisbergen of Briscoe’s charge.

“I would’ve been in trouble and I would’ve had to start defending and probably deserved to get moved, so I’m really thankful it wasn’t one or two laps longer.

“He’s a guy I have a lot of respect for and it seems to come back the other way too.

“Every time I race him he’s awesome to race against. I knew it would’ve been a good battle if he did get there.”

The NASCAR Cup Series continues on July 6 at Chicagoland.

Van Gisbergen beats Briscoe to win Sonoma thriller

Tags: shane van gisbergen

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