Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR brilliance likened to “Michael Jordan in his prime”

Chase Briscoe has likened Shane van Gisbergen’s dominance on road courses to “Michael Jordan in his prime” after following him closely in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma.

Trackhouse rookie van Gisbergen continued his brilliant form on road courses and street circuits into Sonoma, converting pole position into a dominant one-second victory over Joe Gibbs Racing rival Briscoe.

It marked the Kiwi’s third victory in five races, having also triumphed in Mexico City and Chicago in recent weeks.

Remarkably, van Gisbergen has become the fastest driver to clinch four Cup races in his career (in 34 starts) since Parnelli Jones took his fourth win at Riverside in 1967 in his 31st start.

Briscoe got three opportunities to make a move on van Gisbergen at Sonoma amid multiple caution periods late in the race, but the 36-year-old proved untouchable each time.

The three-time Supercars champion’s dominance on road courses prompted Briscoe to draw a parallel with NBA legend Jordan, who also co-owns fellow Toyota team 23XI Racing with Briscoe’s teammate Denny Hamlin.

“The only opportunity I had was on the restarts,” said the Indiana native. “I never played basketball against Michael Jordan in his prime, but I feel like that’s probably what it was like.

“That guy is unbelievable on road courses. He’s just so good. He’s really raised the bar on this entire series.”

He added: “Honestly don’t know what more I need. I feel like my car is extremely good, and I feel like every time I would run down Shane he would just pick up the pace himself and start driving back away.”

Van Gisbergen’s victory at Sonoma has helped him move up to 26th in the championship as the top rookie, while he also has 17 playoff points.