AP Top News｜车队老板预测范吉斯伯根将在NASCAR季后赛中取得佳绩

Labeling statistics as kind of an American thing, Shane van Gisbergen avoids dwelling on his record-setting rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

It normally hits me on the plane ride home or at 4 a.m. after a few beers, van Gisbergen said Sunday after conquering the Watkins Glen International road course in New York for his fourth victory this year. I try to reflect on it, but I also try and get to the next week pretty quick. Ill try not to tweet at 4 a.m. this morning.

If the laid-back Kiwi were into chest-pounding on social media, the list of heady accomplishments includes being the third driver with four consecutive Cup wins on road or street courses, joining 2020 champion Chase Elliott and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon.

It also includes being the first rookie with four victories breaking a tie with seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson and three-time champion Tony Stewart and the largest margin of victory (11.116 seconds) in Watkins Glen history and second largest this season behind his 16.567-second win at Mexico City that was the biggest gap from first to second since 2009.

The next achievement could be the loftiest yet for the driver from Auckland, New Zealand, who struggles massively on the ovals that comprise most of the season.

Can van Gisbergen be a legitimate championship contender in Year 1?

Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks, who put his reputation on the line and convinced sponsors to risk millions on an audacious plan to make the Cup playoffs with an inexperienced and unheralded rookie, suggests a deep run awaits the No. 88 Chevrolet.

Shane just continues to go showcase why weve made a long-term commitment to him, why we brought him over here from New Zealand and built this team around him, said Marks, who signed van Gisbergen to a multiyear extension last week. Because in a sport like this where winning is so important and so hard to do, if you can catch some lightning in a bottle like weve got with SVG, youve got to really lean into it. Thats what weve done. Its like seeing a plan come together.

The plan now has a path to the doorstep of a Cup title.

The first round of 16 drivers is contested on three ovals, but van Gisbergen has a sizable 22-point cushion (victories are worth five points apiece for the playoffs) to overcome a 26.9 average finish on ovals.

Pared down to 12 drivers, the second round features a road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A win there would catapult a driver into the third round, where eight drivers will square off for four berths in the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Hes in a really good position, Marks said. I think we have a real opportunity to get to the Round of 8.

The playoffs open at tricky Darlington Raceway, whose odd shape is among the most difficult layouts in NASCAR, but van Gisbergen is more concerned about the first-round cutoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway. He finished 38th in his April 13 debut on the Tennessee short track.

I ran terrible there, said van Gisbergen, who finished 20th a week earlier at Darlington. Bristol was so far from anything Ive ever done, and thats a really tough place. Thats probably the biggest worry. Darlington, I feel fine, especially now that we have a lot of points. Youve just got to have three solid weeks, and you might get through. We just have to play the averages, make no mistakes and make sure were in a good spot every week.

Zilisch future

After pulling Connor Zilisch from the Cup race at Watkins Glen, Marks said its unclear when the Xfinity Series points leader will return from the broken collarbone he suffered while celebrating his series-high sixth victory Saturday. With approval from NASCAR, Zilisch could skip the final three regular-season races and still be eligible for the Xfinity playoffs.

Hes a huge asset and a huge part of the future of the business, Marks said. We have to make sure that were not hurting any long-term opportunities by taking advantage of a short-term opportunity.

Having raced with a broken collarbone in 2021, van Gisbergen believes Zilisch could return for the Aug. 22 race at Daytona International Speedway.

I had a weekend off and raced the next week, so pretty much what hes going to go through, van Gisbergen said. Id get a plate put in and then take it out at the end of the year. Its obviously going to be in pain. My biggest problem was tightening the belts. I could really feel the plate through the skin, and it was a horrible feeling. But I raced the next week and did pretty well. For sure with some good doctors and some good drugs, hell get through the race fine.

Impressing the boss

With team owner Michael Jordan in attendance, Bubba Wallace finished eighth at Watkins Glen (a spot ahead of 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick) for a season-best fourth consecutive top 10. The stretch includes the Brickyard 400 victory that qualified Wallace for the playoffs and relieved enormous pressure from the No. 23 Toyota driver.

Indy was life-changing, Wallace said. It allowed me to not harp on all of the mistakes that I usually make at a road course. The big boss was here, so its good to get MJ a couple of top 10s.

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AP auto racing:

肖恩·范吉斯伯根将统计数据称为“有点美国特色”，并避免过多谈论自己在NASCAR杯赛系列赛中创纪录的新秀赛季表现。

“通常是在回家的飞机上，或是凌晨4点喝了几杯啤酒后，这种情绪会突然袭来，”范吉斯伯根在周日赢得纽约沃特金斯格伦国际赛道冠军后说道，这是他今年第四次夺冠。“我试着去回味，但也很快投入到下一周的准备中。今天凌晨4点我会尽量忍住不发推文。”

若这位随性的新西兰人热衷于在社交媒体上炫耀成就，那么他令人瞩目的成绩单上将包括：成为第三位在公路或街道赛道上连续四次赢得杯赛的车手，与2020年冠军蔡斯·埃利奥特（Chase Elliott）及NASCAR名人堂成员杰夫·戈登（Jeff Gordon）比肩。

这还包括成为首位赢得四场胜利的新秀车手——打破了与七届冠军吉米·约翰逊和三届冠军托尼·斯图尔特的平局纪录，同时创下沃特金斯格伦赛道历史上最大领先优势（11.116秒），以及本赛季第二大的领先优势，仅次于他在墨西哥城创造的16.567秒胜绩，这也是自2009年以来冠亚军之间的最大差距。

对于这位来自新西兰奥克兰的车手而言，下一项成就或许将是其职业生涯的巅峰——尽管他在占赛季大半的椭圆赛道上表现始终举步维艰。

范吉斯伯根能在参赛第一年就成为冠军的有力争夺者吗？

Trackhouse Racing车队老板贾斯汀·马克斯不惜押上个人声誉，成功说服赞助商豪掷数百万美元，支持其大胆计划——让一名毫无经验且默默无闻的新秀车手冲击杯赛季后赛。他暗示，88号雪佛兰赛车即将迎来一段辉煌征程。

马克斯上周与范吉斯伯根签下多年续约合同后表示："沙恩（范吉斯伯根）不断证明我们为何对他作出长期承诺，为何要将他从新西兰引进并围绕他组建这支车队。因为在胜负至关重要又极难取胜的赛事中，若能像我们拥有SVG（范吉斯伯根）这样抓住转瞬即逝的天才，就必须全力把握。这正是我们的做法，就像目睹计划完美实现。"

该计划现已铺就通往冠军奖杯之路。

首轮16强车手将在三条椭圆形赛道上展开角逐，尽管范吉斯伯根在椭圆形赛道上的平均完赛名次仅为26.9名，但他仍拥有22分的可观缓冲优势（季后赛阶段每场胜利可获5个积分）。

第二轮比赛在夏洛特赛车场的公路赛道举行，参赛车手已缩减至12人。在此获胜的车手将直接晋级第三轮，届时八名车手将在凤凰城赛道的冠军决赛中争夺四个席位。

“他目前形势非常好，”马克斯说，“我认为我们确实有机会晋级八强赛。”

季后赛将在难度极高的达灵顿赛道拉开帷幕，这条赛道的奇特造型堪称纳斯卡最棘手的布局之一。但范吉斯伯根更关注的是布里斯托尔赛车场的第一轮淘汰赛——4月13日他在田纳西州短道赛的首秀中仅获第38名。

“我在那里的表现糟糕透了，”范吉斯伯根说道。一周前他在达灵顿站的比赛中仅获第20名。“布里斯托尔的赛道与我以往经历过的任何比赛都截然不同，那真是个极具挑战性的地方。这或许是目前最大的担忧。至于达灵顿站，我感觉还不错，尤其是现在我们手握大量积分。只要连续三周保持稳定发挥，就有机会晋级。我们只需稳扎稳打，避免失误，确保每周都能占据有利位置。”

齐利希的未来

康纳·齐利施（Connor Zilisch）在周六庆祝其本赛季第六场胜利（系列赛最高纪录）时锁骨骨折，马克斯车队将其从沃特金斯格伦站的杯赛中撤下后表示，目前尚不确定这位Xfinity系列赛积分领跑者何时能重返赛场。经NASCAR批准，齐利施可跳过最后三场常规赛，但仍具备参加Xfinity季后赛的资格。

马克斯表示：“他是公司的宝贵资产，也是未来发展的核心力量。我们必须确保不会因追逐短期利益而损害长期发展机遇。”

范吉斯伯根曾在2021年锁骨骨折的情况下坚持参赛，他认为齐利希有望在8月22日重返戴通纳国际赛道参加比赛。

范吉斯伯根表示："我休息了一个周末，第二周就参赛了，这和他即将经历的情况差不多。我会先植入钢板，年底再取出。疼痛是难免的，最麻烦的是系安全带时，能清晰感觉到皮下钢板的触感，那种体验糟透了。但我第二周依然参赛并表现不错。只要有优秀的医生和适当的药物辅助，他肯定能顺利完赛。"

给老板留下深刻印象

在车队老板迈克尔·乔丹亲临现场的情况下，巴巴·华莱士在沃特金斯格伦站以第八名完赛（领先23XI Racing队友泰勒·雷迪克一个位次），创下本赛季连续四次跻身前十的最佳战绩。这一系列出色表现包括赢得砖厂400大赛，使华莱士获得季后赛资格，并为这位23号丰田车手卸下了巨大压力。

“印第安纳波利斯站改变了我的人生，”华莱士说道，“它让我不再纠结于以往在公路赛道上常犯的错误。大老板亲临现场，能为MJ（迈克尔·乔丹）拿下几个前十名次真是太好了。”

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