Once again, Shane van Gisbergen proved why he is the king of road courses. From clinching the fourth win of the season and his fifth career win, that too all of them at road courses, this now ties him with Denny Hamlin on four wins each. Additionally, this is one of the most impressive runs of form for a rookie NASCAR driver.

Another consequence of winning four NASCAR Cup races in 2025 is the accumulation of Playoff points. In the main championship, van Gisbergen is well down in 25th place. On any other occasion, he would be well out of championship running. However, he accumulated enough Playoff points to sit 2nd behind Denny Hamlin. But the question remains if he could make a deep Playoff run in 2025?

Recently, Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks spoke of SVG’s Playoff hopes.

“I don’t know if it changes as much as it develops. The thought around whether we can actually win as many of these road course races as we think we can win, which we’ve done. The hope is that it accumulates enough Playoff points. That is… his overall learning develops and continues to get better. We go into that Playoff round where we’ve got a lot of points in the bank,” Marks told Dustin Albino for Jayski.

And, thanks to these four wins and road course dominance, he earned plenty of Playoff points. To the point that even if SVG struggles on the initial road courses, the points buffer should lessen the blow. According to Marks, “He’s in a really good position and he can get through those three very difficult oval races in a competitive fashion.”

From there, there is another golden opportunity for Shane van Gisbergen. Marks said, “Get ourselves into the Round of 12 where there’s another road course, another opportunity to punch his ticker into the Round of 8. Being able to go to the road courses and win like this, is a really great sort of support mechanism for his development on the ovals as we chase the points championship.”

While that’s a good analysis from the team owner. Currently, Shane van Gisbergen ranks among the bottom drivers in performance on ovals and drafting tracks, with sub-50 driver ratings, ranking fourth-worst on ovals, and third-worst in drafting races. His short-track average (28.3) is not that great either—one of the worst since 2005.

And, to that, Justin Marks insisted that he is not too worried because he was ‘encouraged by his rate of learning on the ovals’. “There’s not going to be a ton of pressure on him this year. It’s going to be like, go into the Playoffs and learn about how things start to change in the Playoffs. How teams race each other, how drivers race each other, how important points are…That’s going to be a great experience for him. I think we have a real opportunity to get into the Round of 8. Either way, it’ll be a great learning experience for him.” While Justin Marks’ words come as comfort when it comes to Shane’s comments on ovals and learning, he has a lot of respect for fellow drivers and their skill on the ovals.

“These guys have been doing it since they were kids, whereas this stuff (road racing) I’ve been doing since I was a kid… I got a lot to learn on the ovals, but I’m going to keep getting better and keep focusing. Yeah, one day I want to win on an oval, but I know it’s probably a long way away, but I’m going to keep learning. That’s the next goal,” SVG told Motorsports.com in June.

And, we have always seen him appreciating teammates, veterans, and fans. But this time, he’s calling out his critics

SVG reacts to his critics’ post-victory

We’ve seen many fans and commentators argue that SVG is only competitive because of his road-course background from Supercars, implying he couldn’t handle NASCAR’s bread-and-butter oval racing. To be precise, there’s a sentiment around him that goes: “Sure, he can win on twisty tracks, but wait until he has to run a 500-mile oval.”

But answering all the doubters, SVG has now made it clear that despite being an amateur at many tracks, he’s enjoying the journey and is ready to give it his all.

“That’s the stuff you dream about, right? I’m just a very lucky guy to get to drive for an amazing bunch of people and just execute. The day went flawlessly, and I can’t believe it. Really enjoyed it. It ain’t going to be easy (in the playoffs), that’s for sure. The first round, there’s some very difficult left-handed tracks for me, but I’m getting better at it, and I’m enjoying myself. It’s a challenge,” SVG said.

Sharing more about what he’s learning and the insights he’s picking up from champions on the grid, he added: “But that’s why we’re here, and we’ll have a proper crack. … (Blaney) was amazing. He was really good at the start; driving well and I couldn’t pass him. Then all the strategies happened through Stage Two. I think it was that restart in the final stage that got me up closer to the front, and we could run a bit longer. … I really think we are building, but we have got a lot more to go. It’s just a special moment here.”

In all, we might just have a championship rookie already. Rest, as NASCAR nears playoffs, it’ll be good to see how the Trackhouse driver pans out.