Scintillating SVG cruises to dominant Sonoma win

Van Gisbergen started from pole position and only relinquished top spot during the pit stop sequence at the end of Stage 1 and Stage 2.

He led 62 laps of the 79-lapper in the #9 JR Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro to defeat teammate Connor Zilisch by 1.324 seconds.

“Luckily enough, I think I saved enough [fuel] early,” said van Gisbergen.

“Sorry it wasn’t the most exciting race. I guess boring 4is good when you’re the one leading.

“What an amazing car. To lead like that, the car was just so good the whole race. Stoked to get another one for these guys.”

Zilisch had race-winning pace but was bogged down – first by a pit lane speeding penalty in Stage 1 and then by strategy when he restarted Stage 3 at the tail of the top 10 in traffic.

“We probably didn’t think we were going to restart 12th when we stayed out there at the end of Stage 2,” said Zilisch.

“The numbers that Rodney (Childers, crew chief) was getting on the box let us be aggressive and push that entire last run.

“A caution or something to bunch us back up would have been nice. I felt like our car was fast enough to compete but we were just matching each other that last run there.

“He was probably saving fuel and managing his stuff and giving me hope. I’ll at least believe we had something for him.

“A good day for JR Motorsports. Good to get another road course win for the team and a solid run for the #1 team.”

From pole position, van Gisbergen and Brent Crews ran side-by-side up the hill before clearing the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra out of Turn 2.

Blaine Perkins threatened to bring out an early yellow when he locked up at Turn 7 and spun the #31 Jordan Anderson Racing Camaro on Lap 2.

The caution came out on Lap 8 for tyre debris from Kyle Sieg’s #28 RSS Racing Camaro. A lap prior, Lavar Scott in the #45 Alpha Prime Racing Camaro spun entering the hairpin and clipped Sieg, which sent him into a spin.

Van Gisbergen led the restart and immediately cleared Crews entering Turn 1. Anthony Alfredo in the #96 Viking Motorsports Camaro followed suit, passing Crews for second in Turn 2.

As the end of Stage 1 approached, van Gisbergen led by 1.6 seconds. He pitted with three laps remaining. Alfredo and Crews stayed out to take Stage 1 points.

Zilisch, who started from the rear, climbed to 15th before he pitted short of the Stage 1 end. However, he was given a drive-through for speeding.

Alfredo held off Crews for the Stage 1 win. Van Gisbergen finished the stage in 24th but restarted third once those who hadn’t pitted came to the lane.

Sam Hunt Racing driver Harrison Burton led Blaine Perkins to the green for the Lap 25 race restart. Van Gisbergen was third ahead of Jesse Love, Justin Allgaier, Sheldon Creed, Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer, Carson Kvapil, and William Sawalich.

Van Gisbergen cleared Perkins out of Turn 1 before getting by Burton at the hairpin.

Despite his earlier penalty, Zilisch restarted 11th and continued to make places when Allgaier spun the #7 JR Motorsports Camaro at Turn 7.

On Lap 27, a fading Perkins got tipped into his second spin of the day thanks to a nudge from Sawalich in the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Supra.

Burton looped out of the top five on Lap 29 when he got loose entering Turn 2 and spun through the grass.

On Lap 30, Ross Chastain’s #32 Jordan Anderson Racing Camaro expired spectacularly, as flames belched from below his car and left an oil slick. The caution was called that lap, neutralising the field.

Racing resumed on Lap 34 with van Gisbergen leading Love in the #2 Richard Childress Racing Camaro.

Zilisch’s recovery drive reached second place on Lap 35, making it a JR Motorsports one-two.

With three laps to go in Stage 2, van Gisbergen pitted from the lead with a one-and-a-half-second advantage over Zilisch, who elected to stay out and run long to win the stage.

Once pit stops were completed, van Gisbergen resumed his lead alongside Love. Zilisch, meanwhile, was 10th.

Van Gisbergen maintained his lead ahead of Love and Alfredo at the end of the restart lap.

Zilisch marched forward, and by Lap 58 was up to second and four seconds in arrears of van Gisbergen having scythed his way through.

The final stage was a relatively uneventful affair. Van Gisbergen managed his gap to Zilisch, which held steady to the end of the 75-lap race.

His gap got as large as four-and-a-half seconds, but was whittled down to a little more than one second as van Gisbergen coasted to the chequered flag.

Results: NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Pit Boss FoodMaxx 250