Ever since he burst onto the scene in 2023, Shane van Gisbergen has been a phenomenon. Though 2024 was slightly underwhelming, 2025 completely established him as a breakout road course superstar. Obviously, this isn’t the sole goal he wishes to accomplish, which he has done marvelously so far, but it’s the ultimate speedway giants that he ultimately wishes to master. And with each race getting better for him, the Saturday’s Daytona race became the closest teaser of what he’s capable of achieving at The World Center of Racing.

For his Trackhouse team, the best result obviously came through runner-up Daniel Suarez, but the team had a great evening as his teammates Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen finished together at 15th and 16th, respectively. This was certainly a big high for SVG more than anyone, as he not only had a great run at the tri-oval but also led a few laps in the race, keeping himself safe from the speedway chaos. So what does he have to say about this great run? What stopped it? Post the race, he opened up with some important reflections about his special run.

Shane van Gisbergen realizes mistake but is happy to learn

SVG’s initial days on speedways have definitely been a struggle, but consistency has now started to show in his runs. While he has been tearing it up in the road courses, he hasn’t been sitting idle with his speedway homework.

Post the race, SVG told reporter John Newby, “Yeah I thought it was good. I felt like I learnt a lot and put it in place when I needed to. It was cool to lead for a bit and put myself in good spots to try and control the lanes, which was cool. That’s the longest I’ve been able to do it before. Then I made an error out of 4, chose the wrong lane and lost the momentum and got swallowed up. I think we executed, set out to achieve a decent result to keep a straight car and it worked well.” 

SVG acknowledges his mistakes like the one on Turn 4, but all in all, the days of calling him a speedway rookie by NASCAR standards are fading away. His homework inspirations of studying veterans like Denny Hamlin are certainly coming in handy for the No. 88.

Coming to this race, he was thrilled to lead the Coke Zero Sugar 400 for the first time in his career. In total, the #88 Camaro led six laps during Stage 2, after which he got shuffled behind the line. Owing to his wrong decision at Turn 4, he lost that precious momentum which marked the end of his challenge. Nevertheless, Shane van Gisbergen still felt that he achieved a decent result. Playing safe certainly worked for him to learn the knows and hows of leading at the front, even if it was for a brief period.

He added, “Long way to go, but every type of track we’re getting better in the short, intermediate, superspeedways. I feel like I’ve learned so much every time. I wish I could start the race again, and I’d feel so much better again. Just got to keep that train going and keep getting things right.” 

This underlines SVG’s steady adaptation to NASCAR, showing how he is growing more confident with every outing. It reflects his belief that each race adds to his learning, and while challenges like this will keep coming, his focus on consistency is definitely turning him into a stronger contender week after week.

SVG is officially 2025’s Rookie of the Year

This year, there were only two candidates for Rookie of the Year, Shane van Gisbergen and Riley Herbst. Given both of their performances, it was an easy victory for Shane van Gisbergen, who ended up qualifying for the playoffs with four strong road course wins. Meanwhile, Herbst has not had a patch on the Kiwi driver, never finishing higher than 10th this season.

SVG is also the first foreign Rookie of the Year since F1 alumnus Juan Pablo Montoya in 2007. The 3-time V8 Supercars champion admitted about his race, “It was awesome. We set out and achieved what we wanted to do. I wasn’t quite a good enough pusher to help the No. 99. I would just get tight and bound up, and I couldn’t stay attached. But when we were out front, it was good. It was good to lead some laps and control some lanes. I learned a lot. We just have to keep building. It’s another solid result for this No. 88 Red Bull Chevrolet team.” 

Now, the driver will be gearing up for the playoffs for the first time in his career. The trick will be to survive the first three races and sneak into the Top 12. Then, in the next round, van Gisbergen has very high chances to win his way into the Round of 8, thanks to the road course Roval coming on the way.