Shane van Gisbergen’s 2025 NASCAR season has been a tale of two tracks. Starting off with impressive performances on road courses, SVG quickly established himself as a dominant force, racking up four out of the five road races this year. However, his oval racing results were less stellar, presenting a steep learning curve. But in the Kansas race last week, he pulled a shocker.

After a disappointing outing at New Hampshire marred by a penalty and setbacks, Van Gisbergen found redemption with his first top-10 finish on an oval at Kansas Speedway. It’s an achievement that has raised expectations for the next oval outing at Las Vegas after the Charlotte road race. This breakthrough signals rising confidence and adaptation to the oval style, setting the stage for a potential late-season surge for the Kiwi.

Shane van Gisbergen celebrates first oval top ten after New Hampshire setback

Describing his milestone at the Hollywood Casino 400, Shane van Gisbergen said, “Yeah, it was awesome. Especially after New Hampshire.” The New Zealander started 24th at Kansas, but was penalized and had to start from the rear of the field due to inspection violations. He also lost his crew chief, Stephen Doran, due to this, and even fell two laps down. Despite these heavy hurdles, he still staged a remarkable comeback to finish 10th.

Earlier at New Hampshire, SVG’s race was derailed after a 32nd-place finish, marking his continued struggles on oval tracks. Despite his dominance on road courses, ovals have proven challenging all year. “Everyone’s so good and it has taken all year for us to get up to speed,” Shane van Gisbergen said, crediting his crew and spotters for helping him adapt and achieve this milestone.

Looking ahead to the next oval race at Las Vegas, SVG is cautiously optimistic: “It’s definitely those big tracks. They’re very, very tough how fast we go.” The 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a high-speed intermediate track where average speeds exceed 180 mph, challenging driver skill and car setup. SVG has not raced a mile-and-a-half track since midseason, so the Kansas result fuels optimism for continued progress on such challenging ovals.

For SVG, the Kansas top ten is more than just a result. It’s a breakthrough after a season of hard lessons on ovals, signaling steady improvement and growing confidence. As the series heads to Vegas in the next week, the New Zealander hopes this momentum propels him into a strong playoff position on tracks where he’s still finding his groove. It’s a reminder that persistence in NASCAR pays off, even when the learning curve is steep.

Chase Elliott says Shane van Gisbergen deserves credit

Chase Elliott is officially part of the Shane van Gisbergen fan club, and there’s no denying it. And honestly, who can blame him? SVG has been on an absolute tear this season, winning four of the five road course races in the Cup Series – Mexico City, Chicago, Sonoma, and Watkins Glen – and even snagging a sixth-place finish in the other (COTA). Now, heading into the Charlotte Roval, the Trackhouse Racing driver is eyeing to take that win count to five.

Before SVG showed up and flipped the script, Elliott was the undisputed road course ace in NASCAR. But these days, even he admits that title might’ve shifted. “There’s no question he’s done a fantastic job,” Elliott said during Saturday’s media session. “I’ve always tried to give him the credit he deserves for the discipline and how good he is at it, and I think that should be celebrated.”

Elliott’s not salty about it either. In fact, he thinks SVG’s dominance should push the rest of the field to raise their game. “If a guy’s dominating something, so what?” he said with a shrug. “Writers and fans should celebrate that, and we as competitors should figure out how to make ourselves better to reach that bar again.”

It’s not hard to see why van Gisbergen’s adjusted so quickly. Coming from the Australian Supercars circuit, where he won three championships, SVG already had years of experience taming tricky, technical road courses, something that clearly translates well to NASCAR’s new era.

“There are some similarities that helped him make that transition,” Elliott explained. “But look at his Xfinity success, too. Those cars are nothing like what he came from. That’s why I say, he’s just a great talent, plain and simple, and we shouldn’t take that away from him.” As the Cup Series continues to evolve, Elliott sees SVG’s rise as a good thing for the sport. Competition breeds greatness, after all.