Shane van Gisbergen is currently dominating the NASCAR Cup Series in a way that hasn’t been seen in decades. He won the race in Mexico with a margin of 16 seconds and has now swept the weekend in Chicago by winning both the Xfinity Series and Cup Series races. But such a display of sheer power isn’t new in the history of professional stock car racing.
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Rewinding the clock to 1965, one can see the iconic Ned Jarrett dominating in the Grand National Series. He had secured 11 wins by the time the Southern 500 came about at Darlington Raceway that season. He had already captured his maiden championship in 1961. That he was victorious in his Ford Galaxie wasn’t a surprise. But the way he won certainly was.
29 of the 44 cars that raced under the hot South Carolina sun couldn’t finish the race due to reasons such as overheating. Jarrett did not have the quickest car that day. However, he did have one that didn’t succumb to the hot conditions. As a result, he built a huge lead over his competitors. He could have maintained that lead and won the race.
But Jarrett had wanted to do something truly remarkable. And so, he refused to pit despite his crew’s instructions. He slowed his pace down in the final laps to keep the engine cool and ultimately finished with a 14-lap lead over second-placed Buck Baker. Winning a race by that margin? That is simply an extraordinary feat.
Records like these were possible in the good old days since there was a lot separating the cars technically. It just isn’t possible in today’s age, and that makes Jarrett‘s achievement in the Southern 500 unbeatable.
Can Shane van Gisbergen continue his road course dominance?
Van Gisbergen came pretty close to legendary status when he trumped the Cup Series field in Mexico. He was too quick to be caught and finished 16.567 seconds ahead of second-placed Christopher Bell. It marked the largest margin of victory in a Cup Series race since 2009. But he did not stop there. He went to Chicago and won on both Saturday and Sunday.
By doing so, he reiterated his position as the best road course driver in the active field. Now that the field is days away from the visit to the Sonoma Raceway, a 12-turn hilly road course, the question is whether he can continue his extraordinary run. Yet another victory for him might seem too good to be true. But there is every chance for it to happen.
SVG might not win with a lead of 14 laps as Jarrett did, but he appears to be the only one with the potential to achieve something that bears a resemblance.
