Michael Jordan Gets Pulled In as Chase Briscoe Drops Unearthly Praise for Shane Van Gisbergen

It may be an age of multi-sport legends in NASCAR. Joe Gibbs started it by transitioning from a 3X Super Bowl-winning coach to a championship-winning team owner at Joe Gibbs Racing. Michael Jordan continued this age when he became the 23XI Racing owner in 2020. The former NBA star put up GOAT numbers during his prime, like in the 1995–96 season, when Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to a 72–10 regular season record. From 1996 to 1998, the Jordan-led Bulls again won three championships in a row for the second time in his NBA career. Because of these remarkable achievements, Jordan, in his prime, was like a god to many, just like Shane van Gisbergen is right now.

The Kiwi speedster has been on fire for the past few weeks. SVG’s star-studded run began in Mexico City, and the road course streak has continued into Sonoma. He had many challenging competitors, though, including Chase Briscoe, who finished right behind him. But the latter was simply grateful for the finish he could get while battling with SVG.

Shane van Gisbergen is a spaceman on Earth

Chase Briscoe gave it his all at Sonoma Raceway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was on Shane van Gisbergen’s tail from the get-go. The No. 19 Toyota started from second place, while SVG’s No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevy started on the pole. That started a solid battle between the two, with Briscoe falling off pace a little at first. He finished 7th and 6th in Stages 1 and 2, respectively, waiting for the opportune time.

That came during the final stage, when a round of crashes unfolded and Briscoe hounded SVG on multiple restarts. Briscoe’s car was the only one to keep a reasonable distance from the leader. Despite the magnanimous effort, he could not beat SVG, but Briscoe dazzled nonetheless, showing that he has what it takes to give SVG a run for his money.

In the end, Shane Van Gisbergen led for 97 of 110 laps and finished 1.128 seconds ahead of Briscoe at the start-finish line. After the former Supercars champion offered another beating to his Cup Series rivals, SVG left Chase Briscoe starry-eyed. He compared SVG’s three-peat road course streak with Michael Jordan’s NBA record: “I never played basketball against Michael Jordan in his prime, but I feel like that’s what it was probably like. That guy is just unbelievable on road courses. He’s raised the bar for this entire series.” 

What is more? Another salute was in store for SVG from Chase Briscoe. The latter could not get enough of the 8-time NASCAR national series race winner, comparing SVG with a spaceman while his rivals are earthly beings. Briscoe wrote on X, “36 racecars and one rocket ship on track today. Proud of our group for bringing the fastest racecar. 😂 Never been so proud to run 2nd in my life.”

Chase Briscoe was also on point with his efforts. The James Small-led team ran its best speed at Lap 93. It was the right call as it fended off competitors like Michael McDowell and Chase Elliott. Yet it was not enough to topple SVG, as Briscoe continued, “I honestly don’t know what more I need. I feel like my car is extremely good, and I feel like every time I would run down Shane, he would just pick up the pace himself and start driving back away. It was frustrating at times, but I was honestly happy with the effort.”

Like Chase Briscoe’s salute, SVG also had some words to share about his rival.

A heartwarming reciprocation

Well, Shane van Gisbergen’s affable personality is another thing that endears him to fans and rivals. The Kiwi speedster may be on a god-level road course racing streak at present, but that does not stop him from hailing his competitors. With good reason, too, as Chase Briscoe was an extremely strong contender. His win at Pocono Raceway was one to remember, and with the runner-up effort in Sonoma, Briscoe has seven top-five finishes through the opening 20 races.

This is his new personal best for a single season (previous best was six in 2022). He is one top 10 shy of matching his most for a season (nine in 2024). Briscoe had legitimate chances of overcoming SVG during the late-race restarts, but he never got aggressive enough. Shane van Gisbergen’s dominance was broken only when pitting in the waning laps of Stages 1 and 2, and that was only done to prioritize race-winning strategy over stage points.

The opening was also there when he brought the No. 88 Chevrolet to pit road at Lap 84. However, Chase Briscoe raced him clean, which earned him praise from SVG post-race. The Trackhouse Racing winner saluted his competitor as well: “Yeah, it was pretty tough stuff. We had an amazing car. Chase Briscoe, what a great racer, and he gave me respect. Jumped the last [restart] a little bit, and it was pretty tense, but amazing. So stoked for Red Bull, Trackhouse, Chevy. I believe we had a really fun weekend here, some great races, and I hope everyone enjoyed that.”

Clearly, this exchange of respectful salutes marked another high point for the Sonoma race. With Shane van Gisbergen riding a dizzying high, what more can we expect from the legendary racer? Let us know in the comments!