Once you win practically one-sixth of the 36 races in a NASCAR Cup season, most drivers would contemplate that an ideal season. A championship-worthy season, as a matter of reality. Nicely, that reply could be sure and no for Shane Van Gisbergen, who earned his fifth street course win on Sunday on the Charlotte Roval.
Nevertheless, in a way, the victory got here in a shedding trigger, as he was eradicated from the Cup playoffs three races in the past after the opening Spherical of 16.
One of the best Van Gisbergen can hope to complete this season is thirteenth. Nonetheless, the New Zealand native is slowly however certainly bettering on ovals, which make up the lion’s share of the Cup schedule.
As soon as the previous three-time Australian V8 Supercars champion absolutely will get the grasp of ovals — and he has positively proven enchancment this 12 months in comparison with final season — SVG goes to change into “very harmful,” as his boss, Trackhouse proprietor Justin Marks, mentioned after Van Gisbergen’s win at Charlotte on Sunday.
“I believe it’s nonetheless simply time,” SVG mentioned of what he nonetheless wants throughout his post-race press convention. “I really feel like each race weekend I’m studying one thing. Even on a street course.”
Van Gisbergen was a spoiler on Sunday Sunday, serving to to knock 4 drivers out of rivalry for additional development into the Spherical of Eight, which begins subsequent Sunday in Las Vegas. SVG is hoping he can proceed in the identical trajectory within the last 4 races of the season, whereas additionally getting higher on all 4 ovals (Las Vegas, Talladega, Martinsville and the season finale at Phoenix).
“These subsequent few weeks are a distinction of tracks,” Van Gisbergen added. “All three tracks [in the Round of Eight, but that can be extrapolated to include the one-mile flat track at Phoenix] are very completely different from one another.”
“That’s the onerous half the place you’ve received to transition from the mile-and-a-half (Las Vegas) to the quick observe (Martinsville) or superspeedway (Talladega). It’s going to be a fairly loopy end to the 12 months. However, yeah, I should be higher in any respect disciplines of what NASCAR Cup racing is. That may assist us do higher within the playoffs subsequent 12 months.”
SVG Is Already Planning for Subsequent 12 months’s Playoffs
You need to like that type of confidence, the place SVG is already predicting he’ll make the playoffs once more in 2026. “Yeah, I actually assume we’re getting quite a bit higher, however we would have liked to execute, and we didn’t within the playoffs,” he continued.
And whereas the Trackhouse Racing driver nonetheless has a option to go, he’s assured that he’ll proceed to get higher with every subsequent Cup race.
“I believe my studying curve continues to be fairly steep,” he admitted. “I really feel like as a driver I’m getting extra comfy and understanding the automotive dynamics, the setup each week.
“I really feel like I’m at all times studying. So, yeah, so long as that doesn’t cease, I’ll preserve getting higher.” After which possibly his initials might should be switched from SVG to SVD: “Shane’s Very Harmful.”
