Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Shane van Gisbergen flipping, winning stage at Sonoma: 'Ultimate f*** you'

Shane van Gisbergen laid down an ass-kicking this past weekend during the NASCAR Cup Series’ trip to Sonoma Raceway. While his win was impressive, one moment stood above the checkered flag for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in California.

As the second stage was coming to an end, Kyle Larson stayed out to try and gain some playoff points. SVG was flipping the stage with his pit stop, and for most drivers that would mean the stage win would be out of the question. Well, the New Zealander isn’t like most drivers.

SVG not only caught Larson, but passed him to win Stage 2. It was a showcase of true dominance, and Earnhardt Jr. lauded the moment on the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download.

“I thought it was a good race,” Earnhardt Jr. stated, regarding Sonoma. “From just a general perspective of entertainment. … Look at (Shane van Gisbergen). The guy, when he flipped Stage Two and won it, that was like, ‘Holy shit,’ right? What does anybody else — what can you do? If a guy flips the stage and then wins the stage, that’s the ultimate f*** you.

“The rest of the fields has no — there’s no strategy, unless they all didn’t pit and put him in the back of the field. Eventually, you’ve got to pay the penalty and come to pit road and get fuel and tires and all those things. I mean, he just had it covered.”

Alas, it’s these types of instances that make Shane van Gisbergen feel truly unbeatable when it comes to road courses moving forward. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will continue watching the Cup Series with glee, wondering if anyone in NASCAR can hang with the veteran wheelman when the cars have to turn right.

More on Shane van Gisbergen, NASCAR Cup Series

Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin is willing to make a major admission when it comes to Shane van Gisbergen in NASCAR. After the New Zealander won his third road-course race of the season in the Cup Series this past weekend at Sonoma, the veteran wheelman believes SVG is the best road course racer the sport has seen.

“I think there’s certainly a real discussion to be had on the best road course racer that NASCAR has seen,” Hamlin stated, via Actions Detrimental. “I saw Mike Joy mentioned like Dan Gurney. That’s all he did. The other guys were not — they didn’t run but a couple of road courses a year. These guys are all in the same cars now. Back then, anything like from 90s and earlier, the advantages you had with your car far exceeded anything talent level that you could bring to the racetrack.

“I just feel like it’s apples and oranges trying to compare what someone did 40-some years ago, because there was not that many competitive cars. If you had someone that was specific in road racing, they could come out here and win Riverside five of nine times, or whatever it might be. But not someone that’s coming in with spec-cars and more competitive drivers. I don’t think the two are the same.”

That’s a big compliment Hamlin is paying to SVG. It’s more than deserved, as well. He hasn’t just dominated the Cup Series on road courses, but the Xfinity Series too. He been almost impossible to even keep up with throughout the 2025 season on road courses, and it doesn’t look like that’ll be changing anytime soon.