Shane van Gisbergen has done it again. The New Zealand native, who insists his road-course dominance is harder than it looks, made it look effortless Sunday at Watkins Glen International, winning from the pole for his seventh career Cup Series victory — all on road or street courses.

Driving the No. 97 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing, van Gisbergen led 74 of 100 laps around the 2.45-mile circuit, securing his second consecutive win at the historic track. "We weren't very good in practice, and then qualifying was amazing, and then today, what a race car," van Gisbergen said after the race. "I wasn't sure how it was going to work, and then to run them down like that, it's very, very special to do two in a row."

The victory extends his Cup Series record for wins by a driver born outside the United States. But it wasn't without drama. Pitting from the lead under green with 24 laps remaining, van Gisbergen dropped to 24th, nearly 30 seconds behind leader Ty Gibbs. In a move that showcased his elite tire management and raw speed, he needed just 17 laps to retake the lead, ultimately winning by a commanding 7.288 seconds over Michael McDowell.

"He's made it pretty clear, especially at these tracks, he likes to be on offense, so we put him there and just let him go do his thing," said crew chief Stephen Doran, explaining the decision to take four tires late rather than conserve fuel like many competitors.

Gibbs finished third, followed by Chase Briscoe and points leader Tyler Reddick. McDowell, who started second, had his own comeback story after falling to 27th on his final pit stop. At one point, he thought he might match van Gisbergen's pace — until he realized the Kiwi was simply pacing himself. "It felt like he was just pacing himself off me, and he'd take back off," McDowell said. "We still got a little work to do, but it's a good building block."

With six wins in the past seven road-course events dating back to Mexico City last June, van Gisbergen has firmly established himself as NASCAR's road-course ace — and he shows no signs of slowing down.