Only Yesterday: As Drivers Eye Road Course Records, Keep History in Context

While NASCAR makes some dubious history this week by hosting its annual trip to Watkins Glen International earlier in the season than ever before, which is frankly not a great idea, it’s a great time to look at some road course statistics. It’s also a great time to look at why things aren’t always as they seem.

With three road races left in 2026 (Watkins Glen, Sonoma Raceway and the San Diego street course), it’s possible that road course ace Shane van Gisbergen could tie the all-time road-course win record of nine, currently held by Jeff Gordon.

Van Gisbergen is already tied for fourth all-time in road course wins at six. Other drivers with that same total include Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace, Bobby Allison, Ricky Rudd and Kyle Larson. Chase Elliott is next in line with seven and Tony Stewart is second with eight. What’s especially impressive about van Gisbergen’s total is that his six road-course wins come in just 12 starts for a .500 winning percentage. He’s also in just his second full season of Cup Series competition. He could easily eclipse Gordon in his third.

Elliott and Larson could very well pass Gordon, too. Elliott is just 30, so he’s realistically got the most time to play with.

Here’s where all of this requires a closer look. Cup competition is hard. And while the best drivers in history were versatile and capable of winning just about anywhere (Gordon won at every Cup track he raced on except Kentucky Speedway), road racing is a specialized skill. So is superspeedway racing. So is short-track racing. 

Road racing has brought specialists out of the woodwork for decades. Perhaps most notable was Dan Gurney, who spent most of his career in open-wheel and sports cars, but he also climbed into a Cup car a handful of times, nearly all at Riverside Raceway or Daytona International Speedway. All of Gurney’s five series wins came in nine starts at Riverside. Van Gisbergen’s first win came in what was then a one-off ride on the streets of Chicago.

If anything, it’s more difficult to win in a part-time ride. The cars are prepared for the driver, but he’s not there every week to give input. There isn’t the same level of communication as there is for a team that has worked together all season and often multiple seasons. To win means doing it at a disadvantage to the full-time drivers and teams.

It also takes away an opportunity for a regular to win if a ringer does it instead. That’s not bad for the sport by any means — quite the opposite. And there is considerably less opportunity to win on road courses to begin with.

The drivers gunning for the road-course record now have a large and distinct advantage over Gordon: time. 

While four races is less than most other track types save superspeedways, it’s twice the number Gordon or Stewart had each year of their careers. Prior to the 2020s, road racing was limited to a couple of races a year. Gordon amassed 47 road starts in 23 full seasons and one partial. Elliott has 38 in less than half of that time. If the schedule remains static and Elliott were to race just five more years, he’d have 58. If he races to 40, he’ll have 78. Van Gisbergen’s 12 starts have come in less than two full seasons’ worth of starts.

If Elliott races long enough to double his road course starts and maintains his win percentage, it puts him on pace for 14 road course wins, well eclipsing Gordon’s despite what would be a roughly equal length of career. Van Gisbergen is already 37, but at his winning rate, if he races three more years after this one, he’d wind up in double digits too.

Despite his current struggles, consider Connor Zilisch, a 19-year-old who won six road races in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2025. Zilisch is an outstanding road racer, and if he should carry the same win percentage on the right-handers as Gordon for a 20-year career, he’d wind up with 15 wins. There’s a lot of speculation here, because Zilisch could never show the same potential in Cup as he had in O’Reilly, or he could prove the opposite and win at a faster clip than Gordon did.

None of that’s to say that Gordon (or Stewart, Petty or anyone else) was better than the drivers racing today, or that today’s drivers would never break the record with two races a year. But it does highlight the need for context in history. Part of the reason today’s road warriors have the numbers they do is because they have more opportunities. At the same win percentage, Gordon’s win total would double at four races a year.

Which is something to consider when comparing historical data in a larger context. A lot of variables have changed over the years and will change in the future. That’s not saying one era was better because of them, just that comparing data without looking at the circumstances around it is a disservice. Gordon’s road course record nine wins is an impressive one. Van Gisbergen’s winning percentage is outrageous. Both of these can be true, and it’s also true that a youngster like Zilisch could rewrite what we know now. Elliott or Larson could capitalize on the additional opportunities they have. 

For history’s sake, the more truths like those there are, the better for the sport and for the fans. Just remember that the road to the sports greatest accomplishments isn’t the same for every driver, and that different doesn’t mean better or worse. But history without context is incomplete.