Shane van Gisbergen‘s win at Sonoma came down to luck, not skill, his crew chief revealed. It was a huge weekend for Trackhouse Racing. Ai Ogura clinched the team’s first-ever MotoGP win at the Dutch Grand Prix, and van Gisbergen won the NASCAR race. But inside the No. 97 garage, things were tense. Chase Briscoe chased van Gisbergen all the way to the end, finishing just behind him.

Fans thought van Gisbergen was just playing it safe. However, crew chief Stephen Doran admitted that SVG had no speed left and barely survived.

Did Shane van Gisbergen get lucky in Sonoma?

“He said when he went to go, he didn’t have anything else,” Doran told Steve Letarte. “Said, ‘I don’t know if it was because I got in a little bit of traffic behind the #7 and the #5, and just warmed my tires up more than I had before’. He’s like, ‘I’m telling you, I didn’t have anything else.’ It’s lucky we had him, or I don’t think we win that race yesterday.”

Tire management is everything at a track like Sonoma. When a driver gets stuck in traffic, their tires get too hot. Overheating the tires ruins the grip needed to pull out of tight corners. Doran’s comments prove that van Gisbergen burned up his tires while fighting through the pack. This left him with no grip to defend his lead against Briscoe in the final laps.

He was very lucky the race finished when it did. This was the opposite of what happened at the Naval Base Coronado street race one week earlier. At Coronado, the tight streets left no room for mistakes, and he crashed out early. At Sonoma, he barely held on. The only reason he won because he used his car to block Briscoe on the final lap.

How bad has Trackhouse Racing’s campaign been in 2026?

While the MotoGP side of the organisation has been on fire, it is the complete opposite for the NASCAR operation. Take away van Gisbergen’s two road course wins, and he would be nowhere in contention for the Chase. He is the highest-placed Trackhouse Racing driver out of the trio and the only one in the Chase position. Ross Chastain is miles behind, all the way down in 22nd, with four top 10s and a best finish of 3rd. He looks like a completely different driver from the one who went viral a few years ago for his “wall-ride” move.

As for Connor Zilisch, he is enduring a rookie season from hell. The #88 driver has struggled a lot this season and has often crashed out early in a number of races. His seventh place finish at the Sonoma Raceway was his first top-10 result and, by virtue, his best finish this season. 12 months ago, he was flying high from a dream Xfinity Series campaign that saw him bag 10 wins and finish runner-up.

Who could have guessed that someone who was touted as the next Jeff Gordon would struggle so much? Then again, this is his rookie season, and there is a world of difference between an O’Reilly’s car and a Cup car. As such, there is an adjustment period for rookies, and in addition to that, he cannot control the actions of other drivers. Maybe Zilisch will use this time to gain experience and then show a marked improvement in 2027. One thing is for sure, his 7th place finish is a good start and will be a confidence boost.