There’s no question that Shane Van Gisbergen, a three-time champion in the Repco Supercars Championship, has been a force to be reckoned with on the road courses since debuting in NASCAR’s National Series in the Summer of 2023.
That was expected, given his background… but, when the Auckland, New Zealand-native made the decision to come over to NASCAR full-time, the question was always going to be whether he could adapt to oval competition at a high level.
Now, the industry has seen that question before, with the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya and Sam Hornish, Jr., who traversed from INDYCAR to NASCAR in the late 2000s and early 2010s, as well as Marcos Ambrose, who took the exact same path that Van Gisbergen has taken to get to the pinnacle of American motorsports.
While Van Gisbergen, in his first season running full-time in the Cup Series, has already seen more success than Montoya, Hornish, or Ambrose had by virtue of his six victories (all on the road courses), the Trackhouse Racing driver is entering the new season focused on progressing on the ovals to make himself a well-rounded driver.
“I don’t know, I don’t really think like that,” Van Gisbergen said when asked if he was more optimistic about his oval prospects this year. “I feel like it’s just a work in progress. I feel like I’m just getting better and better. So hopefully it keeps getting better. I still feel like I learn a lot every weekend. When that stops, that’s when it gets harder, I guess.”
It’ll take some progression on ovals, plus his usual dazzling performance on the road courses, to put together a solid campaign in the No. 97 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, due to a change in the championship format over the off-season, which eliminates the ‘win, and you’re in’ aspect of making the post-season.
“I didn’t join this series to do road courses, but obviously it’s a bonus. I’d love more road courses and not fewer, but that is what it is. Thankfully, we’re getting better at the ovals, so that’s good.”
Now, Van Gisbergen will need to find himself inside the top-16 in regular-season point standings come the regular-season finale at Daytona should he want to advance to NASCAR’s 10-race post-season-equivalent, known as ‘The Chase’.
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Under that format in 2025, with the increased bonus for winning races, Van Gisbergen would have narrowly beaten out Joe Gibbs Racing youngster Ty Gibbs for the final spot in ‘The Chase’, courtesy of his bonus points from winning four races in the regular season.
It’s a format that Van Gisbergen believes is more of a “pure racing championship”.
“I think it’s good. I think if you’re a front-running guy consistently, I think it’s really good and more of a pure racing championship. Then, I think it still keeps the balance of excitement or closing everyone up for those last 10 races,” Van Gisbergen added. “So yeah, I think it’s pretty cool. I feel like you lose the desperation of a few people winning races to try to turn their season around. But if I were a top guy every week, I’d be all for this.”
Van Gisbergen will be chasing the late-season performances that the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing team, the majority of whom have jumped over to the No. 97 with him, put together, including a top-10 result at Kansas Speedway and a top-10 qualifying result (and top-five running) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
By the end of last season, the driver, who contests his second DAYTONA 500 come Sunday, found himself more consistently inside the top-15 and on stronger occasions, putting himself inside the top-10.
Should that progress continue, there is no reason to believe that Van Gisbergen and Trackhouse Racing won’t consistently be in the conversation for top-10 runs, and on good days, maybe even top-fives. It’s extremely difficult to win in the NASCAR Cup Series, but being in the conversation to win oval races in his second year of competition would no doubt be a success for one of New Zealand’s top racing drivers.
