Respect is earned on the asphalt, but sometimes, even for a Cup Series champion like Brad Keselowski, it also requires admitting you were completely wrong. This is exactly what happened when he attempted to make a large guess about Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR future.

Brad Keselowski admits he was wrong in judging SVG

“I was wrong,” Keselowski said on the Dale Jr. Download podcast.

When Shane van Gisbergen made his Cup debut in 2023 with Trackhouse Racing, many were left amused as he won the Chicago race. But they were also quick to make a strong judgment, as they claimed SVG’s prior Supercars experience was enough to give him the strength on the track. So did Keselowski.

“We’re all like, ‘Huh? Well, you know, he’s a V8 supercar guy. It was raining. It was a track nobody’s ever run again. Trackhouse has great cars, street courses, where you come from.’ Everything worked perfectly for him.”

But the surprise really came in when Trackhouse made him a full-time driver despite his slightly off performance with Kaulig Racing the following year. However, he quickly made an impact.

“I was surprised when they cut Zane for Shane,” Keselowski recalled. “And I’m going to just go ahead and say right here, I was wrong.”

Sure, the Supercars experience did help SVG to absolutely dominate the road courses, and he was relatively poor-performing on the ovals. However, the 2026 image has changed. While the likes of Brad Keselowski initially thought that SVG was Trackhouse’s way of getting the team into the playoffs (as he admitted), their opinions changed almost instantly as the current season kicked off.

Shane van Gisbergen delivered an amazing performance in Atlanta earlier. Despite the multiple incidents he was involved in, he clinched a top-10 finish. While he lost out on the race win at COTA, he managed to finish 11 in Phoenix. So far, SVG has gone out and managed to prove his preparations for the oval tracks. Understandably, he has been working hard, and Brad Keselowski has also admitted it.

“I got to tell you, now that 2026 has come along and he’s had such a fantastic start to the year, I feel like I was wrong. Now, SVG is almost becoming the face of Trackhouse. Like he’s the guy that’s going to win probably three to five races this year.”

While Brad Keselowski’s claim comes off a little too bold, here’s a bolder one: there is a full-blown possibility that Shane van Gisbergen might contend for his first Cup Series championship this season.

Can SVG compete for the Cup title this year?

As mentioned, this claim might be a bit of a stretch, but considering the Chase format, there could be a real possibility of this happening. As Keselowski claimed, he considered SVG to be a driver who would get Trackhouse into the playoffs with his victory on street courses. Well, even with the playoff format removed, this could work.

All SVG has to do is keep himself locked within the top 16, which he can manage to do. Considering the current standings, he’s in fifth place, a little over 100 points off from the leader, Tyler Reddick. Now, if he manages to win even a single race on the road course, which happens to be a strength of his, he can lock himself within the championship chase.

Moreover, his improved form at the ovals could also be of huge assistance. All he will have to do is pull in consistent top 10 finishes and win the remaining road courses. The race wins, combined with the consistent finishes, can get him a real shot at the title. But winning it? That will only be decided much later in the season.

As of now, SVG has improved on ovals, but not as much to win races. His experience of racing Supercars does help him steer clear of a lot of incidents that happen on the track, but unless he starts winning at ovals, he will always be one step away from winning the title. Yet, his improvement alone gets him another step closer.