NASCAR Cup Series driver Shane van Gisbergen faced questions about his future with Trackhouse Racing a few months ago, following a rough start to the 2025 season. Now, coming off his third win of the year, the rookie driver has etched his name into the record books and is matching marks set by some of the all-time greats.
- Shane van Gisbergen stats (2025): 367 points, 3 wins, 4 top 10s, 3 top 5s, 4 poles, 208 laps led, 21.85 average finishing position in 20 races this season
After his victory at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, here are a few NASCAR stats that highlight van Gisbergen’s dominance on road courses and the outstanding start to his Cup Series career.
4 – Most career NASCAR Cup Series wins by a foreign-born driver
Shane van Gisbergen holds the NASCAR record for most career Cup Series wins by a foreign-born driver with four. While it’s true that he’s faced a limited amount of competition for that title, as there have only been five foreign-born drivers to win a race, it’s how quickly he’s doing it that’s so impressive. SVG made his Cup Series debut in 2023 in the Chicago Street Race and he won it in his first-ever Cup start. Now in his rookie season, he’s won more races in the last five weeks than any foreign-born Cup driver has in their lifetime at this level. Needless to say, the 36-year-old is going to own this record for a long time.
Related: NASCAR standings, see where Shane van Gisbergen sits in playoff standings
3 – Most Cup Series wins in rookie year, tying Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson
The NASCAR Rookie of the Year honor for 2025 was decided weeks ago; now SVG is putting himself in Hall of Fame company. With his victory at Sonoma Raceway—a track he had no previous experience on—he tied Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart for the rookie-season record of three wins. Along the way, he became just the fourth rookie ever in the Cup Series to win multiple races. With two more road courses remaining this season, SVG has a legitimate shot at setting the all-time record.
97 – Most laps led ever in a single Cup race at Sonoma
As noted by NASCAR.com, SVG broke the single Cup Series record for most laps led at Sonoma Raceway by leading 97 of 110 laps in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. It broke the previous record that stood for more than two decades, set by Jeff Gordon in 2004 when he led for 92 laps.
34 – Races it took Shane van Gisbergen to get 4 Cup Series wins
VG’s historic success this season is certainly putting him in some legendary company. He has also done something that no other driver has accomplished in nearly 60 years. He recorded his fourth victory in his 34th career Cup Series race, becoming the fastest driver to win four Cup Series races in fewer than 35 starts since Parnelli Jones (31 starts), per ESPN.
5 – NASCAR Cup Series drivers to win 3 road course races in a row
There’s a reason many are debating whether Shane van Gisbergen is the best road course racer in NASCAR history. That’s in part because his victories this season at Mexico City, Chicago, and Sonoma, all in the last five weeks, have added him to an exclusive list. He became just the fifth driver in Cup Series history to win three consecutive road course races, joining Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace, and Tim Richmond. While he still has a long way to go to reach Stewart (eight) and Gordon (nine) in all-time road course wins, there’s plenty of time ahead of him to hit those marks.
2012 – Last time a Cup driver won back-to-back races after winning pole position
Fittingly, SVG’s dominance on Sundays is directly tied to how he performs during qualifying. He easily won the pole on Saturday at Sonoma Raceway and turned it into a dominant victory. With the win, he became the first Cup Series driver since Jimmie Johnson (2012) to win consecutive races after starting from the pole position. He has also won all three races this season after earning the pole, the first time that’s happened in nearly two decades.
