Shane van Gisbergen - Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at The Glen Race Preview
Event: Bully Hill Vineyards 167 at The Glen (72 laps / 167.4 miles)
Round: 8 of 25 (Regular Season)
Track: Watkins Glen International
Location: Watkins Glen, New York
Date & Time: Friday, May 8 | 4:30 PM ET
Tune-In: FOX Sports 1 | NASCAR Racing Network (NRN) | SiriusXM Ch. 90
Team Stats & Notes
- Niece Motorsports Watkins Glen Stats:
NOAPS Starts: 1; Best Finish: 31st (Victor Gonzales Jr., 2018).
NCTS Starts: 6; Top-10s: 3; Best Finish: 8th (Connor Zilisch, 2025).
- Double Take: For the second time in three races, Niece Motorsports will field two full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers in the NCTS race on Friday. Shane van Gisbergen takes over the No. 4 Chevrolet, while Ross Chastain remains in the No. 45 Silverado. Both Trackhouse Racing drivers will pull a ‘triple-duty’ weekend and also compete in Saturday’s NOAPS race.
- Pit Road Gladiators: Niece Motorsports pit crews continued their hot streak in Texas last week, proving why they are some of the best in the business. The No. 44 team put up the first, second, and fourth-fastest four-tire stops of the night, with the No. 45 team also completing two stops inside the top-10 as well.
No. 4 Circle B Motorsports Auctions Chevrolet Silverado RST
Driver: Shane van Gisbergen | Crew Chief: Mike Shiplett
- Welcome Back, SVG: World class road course ace Shane van Gisbergen returns to Niece Motorsports for his second-career NCTS start. In 2023, van Gisbergen made his series debut with the team at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park - which marked his first NASCAR oval race. Now, he looks to return to the series at a track he’s won at before.
- van Gisbergen’s Watkins Glen Stats:
NCS Starts: 2; Wins: 1 (2025); Top-Fives: 2; Top-10s: 2.
NOAPS Starts: 2; Top-Fives: 1; Top-10s: 1; Best Finish: 5th (2024).
- Shiplett’s Watkins Glen Stats:
NCS Starts: 5; Top-Fives: 1; Top-10s: 1; Best Finish: 4th (2010).
NOAPS Starts: 7; Top-Fives: 1; Top-10s: 3; Best Finish: 3rd (2016).
NCTS Starts: 1; Top-10s: 1; Best Finish: 9th (2025).
- On the Truck: van Gisbergen’s No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado RST will race with support from Circle B Diecast. Circle B Diecast, originally known as Plan B Sales, has been a longtime sponsor in the sport. Team partners DQS Solutions & Staffing and J.F. Electric will both appear on the No. 4 truck as well.
- Pre-Order Now: Circle B Diecast is now offering van Gisbergen’s No. 4 Silverado diecast replicas for pre-orders. Fans can visit the Circle B website now to pre-order the truck in both 1:24 and 1:64 scale versions.
- Quoting van Gisbergen: What are you expecting in the Truck at Watkins Glen? Especially since your only Truck start was on a small oval in 2023.
“It should be cool! It will be my first time doing all three series. I went to Niece (Motorsports) last week and it’s a brand-new truck. It’s cool seeing trucks get built like that and putting in the steering column, you know. It’s all kind of customized to me and how I want it. It’s really cool to go through that process with the team. It will be interesting to see how it goes and see how that race plays out. It’s obviously a lot shorter, but you still have the stages and have to go through the restarts. Hopefully it’s fun and leads to more. I’m going to be competitive at road courses, but I’d love to do more at ovals too, and get that learning process going.”
You said the Truck is customized to you. What are you looking for in the purpose-built Truck?
“When I drove it at IRP, I remember the dash was in my knees and I was hunched over. It was a really small cockpit. I guess they had a bit of a heads up, Cleetus (McFarland) drove there, so it’s already been set for a bigger guy. It’s cool customizing everything, the steering, the pedals. They’ve made full custom pedals so I can right foot brake. It’s awesome the effort they are going through to make a fast truck.”
About Niece Motorsports: Niece Motorsports is a professional auto racing team that has competed in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series since 2016. The team is owned by Josh Morris of DQS Solutions and Staffing and the Fowler Family of J.F. Electric and Utilitra, and was founded by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. At its 80,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Salisbury, NC, Niece Motorsports is a full-service race vehicle build shop as well as a customizable fabrication shop for any manufacturing needs.
Follow the Team: To keep up to date with the latest team news, visit niecemotorsports.com or connect on Facebook and Instagram (@NieceMotorsports) as well as X (@NieceMotorsport).
About Circle B Diecast: Circle B Diecast, originally known as Plan B Sales, was founded in 2010 and started as a Lionel die-cast and Chase Authentics apparel wholesale distributor. The Concord, N.C. based company has grown into the largest independent racing collectibles distributor in the United States. Circle B Diecast offers both retail and wholesale customers a vast array of products through their website, www.circlebdiecast.com.
