Shane van Gisbergen’s rise through the NASCAR Cup Series hasn’t followed any conventional script. He won on debut at the Chicago Street Course in 2023, then backed that up with five wins during his first full-time season last year. However, now the New Zealander has the sport’s biggest names watching him with a very particular kind of attention.
NASCAR Drivers Take Notice of Shane van Gisbergen’s Strong Form
At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin said of van Gisbergen, “Certainly the trend is continuing that he keeps getting better.” He added, “Elite, superior drivers find a way to adapt. And he’s one of those.”
In select Cup starts during 2024, van Gisbergen raced at tracks like Charlotte, Darlington, and Las Vegas, posting a best finish of just 26th.
His 2025 rookie campaign opened with results of 31st, 34th, and 32nd at Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Homestead before a 14th-place run in the Coca-Cola 600 signaled something was beginning to shift.
Road courses were always his domain, and he dominated them, winning five of the six such races that season. Three-time champion Joey Logano credited the results partly to the unique nature of the early schedule, which included two superspeedways and a road course before Phoenix.
“The speedway races and obviously the road course, you expect him to be good,” Logano said. “We’ve had one normal type race at Phoenix, and even with that, still, what was there, 12 cautions or something? I think it’s just we haven’t seen much normalcy yet.” Still, Logano was quick to acknowledge the effort. “He’s doing a good job. I’m not taking it away from that.”
Van Gisbergen spun twice off Turn 4 at Phoenix, causing two of those cautions himself. But he recovered to finish 11th and made 118 green flag passes, seventh-best in the Cup field, according to NASCAR’s Loop Data.
“I feel like we’ve been able to execute and get the most out of our situations, which is awesome,” van Gisbergen said, adding that Phoenix “wasn’t really our doing with the tire and stuff” and that smoother days are what he’s chasing going forward.
With NASCAR reverting to the Chase points format in 2026, the risk-reward calculus has changed considerably for van Gisbergen.
Last year, an early playoff berth gave him the freedom to experiment on ovals without consequence. “You’re locked in the playoffs, whereas now you need to get as many points as you can every week,” he said. “Probably going to drive a little more conservative, but you still got to push it too. It’s a real fine line this year.”
Meanwhile, the 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott pointed to something deeper powering van Gisbergen’s growth, crediting his natural feel behind the wheel rather than any mechanical similarities between the Gen 7 car and his Supercars roots.
“When I look at how his oval stuff has improved, I’m not surprised,” Elliott said. “I think he’s got a great feel for just natural balance behind the wheel, which I think is a really big deal.”
Christopher Bell, who won the pole for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400, offered perhaps the most revealing take, arguing the limited modern practice format has actually slowed van Gisbergen’s oval development.
