Sportsman of the Week Ending 7/13/2025

Summer is a wide world of sports indeed with warm, outdoor temperatures drawing a variety of sports, fans, and winners.  Two times in eight days, NASCAR road king and rookie Shane Van Gispergen dominated the field to go to easy wins.  This week at Sonoma, the New Zealand wheelman Gispergen (commonly called SVG) took the Toyota/Save Mart 350.  Coming from Australian Supercar Series, SVG started NASCAR last year in the Xfinity (lower) circuit while running some road courses to full time Cup Series and won his first race in Chicago's street course in 2024.  This year he took a race in Mexico City, repeated in Chicago, and now in Sonoma.  All cars being equal, he and his 88 hot rod can't be beat on road courses.  Only in his first full season Gisbergen won for the fourth time in 34 starts, becoming the quickest to four wins since Parnelli Jones won at Riverside in 1967 in his 31st Cup start.  This win thrusts him to 3rd overall in the playoff standings despite being essentially non-competitive on ovals.  One of the playoff courses is a road course, can SVG parlay that into a shot at the Cup?  Depends on his oval skills, but he's a great drive and learning.  Shane Van Gispergen is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 7/5/2020

Fans weekends and sometimes weekdays continue an increase of sports presence, and this last weekend was the second running if the IndyCar Racing League (IRL) of the season.  Second running, same as the first as far as winners go.  Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing dominated the GMR Grand Prix field at the league's namesake Indianapolis Motor Speedway to win the road course by nearly 20 seconds.  For someone as dominant as he has been on the circuit, it is suprising it is only Dixon's second win at the Speedway, over a decade since his first in the 2008 Indianapolis 500.  Dixon has his eyes set on a second Indy 500 win for the race now rescheduled for August 23 with qualifying earlier in the month.  The New Zealander is likely to be a heavy favorite and looks poised to capture his sixth overall IndyCar title.  A worthy Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 6/25/2017

Sports achievement casts a wide net, to include jockeys, drivers, and yes. yachtsmen.  In a stunning turn of events this week, New Zealand's Peter Burling not only unseated a 2-time America's Cup Champion United States, but routed them.  Burling's Emirates Team New Zealand took no prisoners in humiliating the Americans 7-1.  After a few matches, it was clear the Team Oracle of the United States had no answers.  It was just a matter of time before the ink was dry and New Zealand hoisted the America's Cup.  Burling and New Zealand may be tough to beat for years to come, as the 26 year old showed no weaknesses in superior execution in every phase.  Congratulations to 49er and Olympic champion Peter Burling, our Sportsman of the Week!