Shane van Gisbergen didn’t come to America to maintain racing on highway programs, he might have remained in Supercars to do this, so the lower in highway programs and a key NASCAR rule change doesn’t hassle him any.
Possibly extra essential to his success is that NASCAR reverted to the Chase for the Championship format this season, that means ‘SVG’ can now not merely win his method into the playoffs. He gained 5 occasions final 12 months, all on highway and road programs in his full-time rookie season however in any other case would have completed exterior the top-20 in a straight-up factors battle.
Nonetheless, he additionally began to acclimate to ovals on the finish of the 12 months and nonetheless completed twelfth within the remaining playoff standings. The purist in him gained’t miss the Playoffs.
“Not the actual racer in me,” stated Van Gisbergen on Wednesday throughout Daytona 500 Media Day. “I believe we are able to make it in on advantage as effectively if we get the whole lot proper. I believe it loses some pleasure in some methods however as a racing championship, I believe it is a higher strategy to do it, yeah.”
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What about NASCAR taking away two highway programs with the lack of Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL?
“I didn’t be part of the sequence to do highway programs,” Van Gisbergen stated. “Clearly, it’s a bonus and yeah, I’d love extra highway programs than much less however it’s what it’s and fortunately we’re getting higher on the ovals, in order that’s good.”
The 2025 season was solely the second of any type that ‘SVG’ raced totally on ovals, first within the Xfinity Collection after which Cup, and even that transition compelled him to adapt to 2 drastically completely different vehicles too.
With that stated, there have been some highlights on ovals, like ripping the fence at Richmond. He was extremely aggressive at Kansas and New Hampshire within the fall too. There have been moments the place it began to visibly click on for the three-time Supercars champion.
“It is nonetheless an evolving factor, you recognize, so I do not really feel like as a lot of a deer in headlights anymore, which is cool,” Van Gisbergen stated. “I form of really feel like I match in additional and may go along with the rhythm of the race extra over the weekends.
“However I am nonetheless studying loads. I didn’t know the place to start out with the driving, the set-ups, the vehicles and the racing dynamic like how the floor adjustments. There are such a lot of various things. It’s a very completely different self-discipline to some other driving.”
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Picture by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Photos
How in regards to the brief tracks, particularly?
“No, I do not suppose so,” he stated. “I nonetheless wrestle on them, like Bristol for instance and Phoenix, they have been most likely my hardest tracks. So these are those I am centered on extra to attempt to get higher at.”
So all instructed, ‘SVG’ desires to only hold progressing.
“I’ve by no means actually been a purpose individual,” he stated. “Making the playoffs could be good however I simply have to hold getting higher and continue to learn, I suppose.”
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