Getty
Shane van Gisbergen has been dominant on NASCAR road courses, but a few drivers could knock him off the throne this Sunday at COTA.
Shane van Gisbergen was the gold standard on road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series last year. Of the six road-course events, the Trackhouse Racing driver won five of them and did so in dominant fashion.
Entering the March 1 Cup Series race at Circuit of The Americas, SVG rides a five-race win streak on road courses, tied for the longest in the Cup Series history with Jeff Gordon.
Of course, things don’t last forever, and someone will eventually top the New Zealand driver on the left and right turns.
The question is if this Sunday’s race at COTA will be that day, or if the driver of the No. 97 will continue his dominance on road courses with another victory.
Who can stop van Gisbergen’s stranglehold on road courses?
SVG might be the road course ace in recent memory, but there are a few drivers who can give him a run for his money. One is his teammate, Connor Zilisch, who won five road-course races in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series last year.
Zilisch also won at Watkins Glen in his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut in 2024.
Another is Tyler Reddick, who is a former winner at COTA in 2023. The driver of the No. 45 carries the momentum of back-to-back wins in the Daytona 500 and at EchoPark Speedway heading into this weekend.
Christopher Bell was the only driver besides SVG to win a road-course race last year, and it was at COTA. The driver of the No. 20 overtook Kyle Busch in the closing laps to take the checkered flag after leading eight laps.
While he hasn’t won a road-course race in the NextGen era, Chase Elliott holds the most wins on road courses among active drivers with seven. His latest road-course triumph came at COTA in 2021 in a rain-shortened race.
Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Kyle Larson and William Byron, are two others who have proven themselves at road courses.
Larson is a six-time road-course winner in the Cup Series, with his latest victory coming at the Charlotte Roval in 2024. Meanwhile, Byron is a former winner at COTA in 2024 and has two road-course victories in the Cup Series.
SVG could make NASCAR history with win at COTA
While the Cup field will look to knock off van Gisbergen this Sunday, the 36-year-old has a chance to make NASCAR history. If SVG wins at COTA, it’ll be his sixth straight win on road courses in the Cup Series.
That would break the record for the longest streak of road-course victories in NASCAR Cup history, as SVG is currently tied with Jeff Gordon for the most with five straight.
SVG is amid his second full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing. Last year, he piloted the No. 88 for the organization, and switched to the No. 97 ahead of this season.
SVG has six career wins in the Cup Series, with five of them coming in 2025. In 2023, van Gisbergen won the Chicago street race in his NASCAR Cup Series debut. He was the first driver in history to win in his first career start.
John Breeden John Breeden is a NASCAR contributor at Heavy Sports. He has five years of sports journalism experience. He graduated from James Madison University in May of 2022 with a degree in media arts and design. John is also a sports reporter for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Previously, John was a sports writer for JMU’s The Breeze and a NASCAR content writer for Sportskeeda. More about John Breeden
More Heavy on NASCAR
Loading more stories