Shane van Gisbergen had barely settled into his seat at Dover last Sunday before things went sideways, figuratively and almost literally. The NASCAR community had been eager to see what SVG could do on ovals when handed a strong starting position, thanks to the rainout that wiped away qualifying. All eyes were on the Kiwi to see how he’d handle the Monster Mile.

There was a real sense of momentum surrounding SVG, built off three road course triumphs over the past month and growing respect from the garage. This was an opportunity to log laps, gather data, and delve deeper into the oval learning curve. But just as expectations were peaking, the day unraveled before the first stage even found its rhythm. In the aftermath, veteran voices began weighing in on how the day was managed from the moment the first signs of trouble appeared.

Kevin Harvick blasts Trackhouse’s pit call

Kevin Harvick didn’t hold back on his Happy Hour podcast, with Kaitlyn Vincie and Mamba Smith. When the conversation shifted to Shane van Gisbergen’s doomed Dover outing, “I think that’s just some of this is just oval inexperience,” he began, acknowledging the Kiwi’s learning curve. But Harvick wasn’t pointing fingers at just SVG.

The real problem, Harvick said, was on pit road. “Ultimately, they sounded like they had a flat right front tire… so, you know, I think when you look at the pit stop right here, you’re coming to a competition caution. Let’s just minimize the damage.” His frustration was clear: the team had a narrow window to fix the issue without losing track position, and they missed it. This led to SVG going multiple laps down and squandering all track position in a race where track position is king.

SVG had radioed in saying, “Something’s broke in the front end,” but the team hesitated rather than reacting decisively. Harvick emphasized that’s where the opportunity slipped away. “I think they should have just changed the tires right there,” he repeated. “Instead of losing four laps, lose maybe two laps at worst and give yourself a chance to at least fight back to get back on the lead lap.” SVG fell from 6th to 37th before he was called in to pit, which led to him getting lapped multiple times and putting him out of contention to get back to the lead lap in time. A horrid day for the #88 team overall.

The tone turned even more critical when Harvick reflected on what SVG lost. “Sucks right there for those 88 guys,” he said. “Qualifying good, getting able to start at the front of the pack. A lot of enthusiasm about the things that he’s done. Doesn’t even get a chance to really fire off and race.” The disappointment wasn’t just in the result; it was in the squandered potential. Dover was supposed to be SVG’s next step forward. Instead, as Harvick made painfully clear, it became a case study in how a single pit road miscue can wreck a weekend.

SVG responds to Dover letdown

Shane van Gisbergen summed up Dover in a sentence: “Well, that was over before it started.” Slotted into sixth after a rainout shuffled the grid, the Kiwi had a golden chance to show what he could do on an oval. A punctured tire just after the green flag sent the No. 88 car tumbling down the order. By the time the chaos settled, SVG had sunk from P6 to 33rd in a matter of laps.

“We got a punctured tire at the start of the race really put us a heap of laps down. Just logged laps till the end. Sucks to have a race like this after the momentum we’ve had the past month! Try again next weekend at Indy,” he added in his X post. It’s a hard pill, especially with another oval challenge coming up next weekend at Indy, where SVG will once again be playing catch-up on a track he’s never raced before.

Mamba Smith, speaking alongside Kevin Harvick, echoed that perspective with a sharp reminder of the track’s brutal nature. “That place is, I mean, it’s Dover. It’s like literally top three or four hardest racetracks,” he said. “You only go there once. He’s only seen a place like that the one time he went and experienced. So, like, he needed the practice.” Dover’s not called the Monster Mile for jokes. The name fits its reputation, and SVG was just another driver that fell to the Monster. With his limited oval experience while still adapting to the Next-Gen car, new ovals are always tricky, and SVG has not been a fan of concrete tracks, as he admitted to having a tough time at Bristol earlier this year.

Shane van Gisbergen’s race at Dover unraveled fast, and it was a breakdown in execution across the board. While SVG stayed composed publicly, veterans like Kevin Harvick made it clear: the team let him down. With Indy up next, all eyes will be on whether SVG will be under the pump, having to qualify early and likely have a starting spot near the back. Let’s see how he does at his first ever Brickyard 400.