WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Shane van Gisbergen earned his fourth victory this season, blowing out the competition again at Watkins Glen International.

The Trackhouse Racing driver joined 2020 champion Chase Elliott and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon as the only drivers to win four consecutive Cup races on road or street courses.

Unlike his prior wins at Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma, van Gisbergen was unable to qualify from the pole position after he was nipped by Ryan Blaney. The Auckland, New Zealand, native bided his team after starting second, taking his first lead on Lap 25 of 90 and then settling into a typically flawless and smooth rhythm on the 2.45-mile road course.

The rookie made his final pit stop with 27 laps remaining and cycled into first place on Lap 74 of a clean race with only three yellow flags. Cruising to a big lead while leading the final 17 laps, van Gisbergen beat Christopher Bell by 11.116 seconds. Chris Buescher finished third, followed by William Byron and Chase Briscoe.

With five victories in only 38 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series, van Gisbergen trails only Elliott (seven wins) and Kyle Larson (six) among active drivers on street or road courses.

The win validated the decision by Trackhouse to sign van Gisbergen to a multiyear contract extension last week.

Feisty Gibbs

It was another frustrating race for Ty Gibbs, who spun John Hunter Nemechek late in Stage 2 and then complained about the handling and strategy of his No. 54 Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing competition director Chris Gabehart, who recently began working as a strategist and consultant to Gibbs’ team, radioed the driver to “stay in the game” after the Nemechek wreck and later took issue after Gibbs questioned his team’s strategy.

“I’m sure you’ve got a real good understanding from inside the car,” Gabehart told Gibbs on the radio. “So you can call the strategy if you want, or we can keep rolling.”

Gibbs, the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, finished 33rd and remained winless since moving into Cup after winning the 2022 Xfinity Series championship. Teammates Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Bell each have qualified for the playoffs with victories this season.

Up next

The Cup Series will race Saturday, Aug. 16 at Richmond Raceway, which will play host to its only NASCAR race weekend this season. The 0.75-mile oval had two annual races on the Cup schedule from 1959-2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NEW YORK — Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected from a game for the fifth time this season in the third inning Sunday against the Houston Astros.

Boone thought Jason Alexander‘s sinker to Ryan McMahon was a low called strike. He argued with plate umpire Derek Thomas, who replied, “I’ve heard you enough, Aaron,” and tossed him out.

Boone continued the argument for about another minute while third base umpire Jordan Baker interceded, and the at-bat continued with McMahon flying out to center field.

Boone was ejected six times last season. His last ejection was by Manny Gonzalez on July 23 in Toronto during the seventh inning for arguing a called third strike on Anthony Volpe.

Since becoming manager in 2018, Boone has been ejected 44 times. Last season, he was tossed by Thomas in the seventh inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves following a walk to Marcell Ozuna.

The Astros held a 2-0 lead when Boone was ejected and went on to win the game 7-1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Sporting a smile with his left elbow in a black sling draped around his neck, Connor Zilisch was back Sunday at Watkins Glen International, recounting his scary fall in victory lane.

After winning Saturday’s Xfinity race at the road course, Zilisch took a nasty tumble while attempting a celebratory perch on his No. 88 Chevrolet in celebration. Zilisch, 19, was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken collarbone. Trackhouse Racing withdrew the No. 87 Chevy that he was scheduled to drive in the Cup race Sunday at Watkins Glen.

“First of all, I’m doing OK,” Zilisch said during the USA broadcast of the Cup race. “Very grateful to be able to walk away from that, and I guess I didn’t walk away, but I’m very grateful to be walking today and to just be all right. Thank you to all the medics who took care of me, and everybody who reached out and wished me well. I do appreciate it a lot.”

After his series-high sixth victory, Zilisch realized he was in trouble immediately after the chaos began in victory lane, which typically is a frenzied scene of winning team members cheering and tossing beverages as their driver exits the car.

“Yeah, I was climbing out of the car and obviously the window net was on the door, and as soon as they started spraying water, my foot slipped,” he said. “And the last thing I remember was being halfway down and falling, so I’m glad it wasn’t any worse, and that the collarbone is the extent of the injuries, but hate I couldn’t make it to the race today.”

The question now turns to whether Zilisch will be ready for the next Xfinity race on Aug. 22 at Daytona International Speedway.

“We’re still working out with all the doctors to figure out what’s going to be the next steps,” Zilisch said.

He already has shown to be a quick healer this season. After a one-race absence at Texas Motor Speedway because of a back injury from a crash at Talladega Superspeedway, Zilisch had posted 11 consecutive top-five finishes and five wins since his return.

He noted that Trackhouse teammate Shane van Gisbergen “had a place put in once and raced the weekend after. So I don’t know if I’ll be that quick, but hopefully my young bones will heal fast, and I’ll be able to get back in it as soon as possible.”