“I’m so far out of my comfort zone,” said Shane van Gisbergen, sharing his thoughts about his rookie Cup Series campaign. There was always an expectation that the former Supercars Champion would struggle at the highest level, especially because of his lack of experience at oval tracks and in full-bodied stock cars in general. While he did complete a season in the Xfinity Series last year, which was a great learning experience, going wheel-to-wheel against NASCAR’s best was always going to be a bigger challenge.

And van Gisbergen has struggled. With no top-10 finishes on oval tracks in the first half of the season, the Auckland-native has significant room for improvement in his racecraft. But he’s taking inspiration from teammate Ross Chastain, who has a penchant for grinding out results on such tracks.

Shane van Gisbergen sees room for improvement

Shane van Gisbergen couldn’t have asked for a worse start to his season. The No. 88 team struggled for speed early and had incidents in almost every race. At the season-opening Daytona 500, he took damage in a stage two crash and finished 33rd, eight laps behind the leaders. He also ended up 23rd after a last-lap crash at EchoPark Speedway and suffered back-to-back DNFs at Phoenix Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Additionally, the Auckland-native finished 34th at Martinsville Speedway, four laps down after losing a right rear wheel due to a botched pit stop. In short, ovals have not been kind to the Kiwi.

But Shane van Gisbergen sees signs of improvement as well. Sharing his thoughts on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast, the Kiwi racer admitted he’s taking inspiration from his teammate, saying, “It’s only a tenth or two to the back of the top-10 in qualifying. Feels like we’re a lot closer, especially to my teammates as well. For some weeks, you know, we miss it with the car and race with my teammates in the mid-20s, so I kind of have to gauge from that. But Ross [Chastain] has this amazing ability, particularly late in the race, to get an amazing result out of a car that’s 20th. He’ll drag it well inside the top 10. I definitely need to get better at my restarts and car placement like him. Certainly feels like I’m getting a lot better.”

Taking inspiration from Ross Chastain is a wise decision. The No. 1 Chevy driver is one of the ‘best restarters’ of the 2025 Cup Series season, making 117 position gains with a retention rate of 82.9% in the opening 17 races. That’s more than double what the current leader, William Byron, has. Being able to get the most out of his restarts is what helped Chastain secure his historic win at Charlotte Motor Speedway as well. He started from last place at the Coca-Cola 600 but climbed his way as the laps ticked on, finishing above the No. 24 Chevy despite Byron winning all three stages and leading 283 of the 400 laps. Alongside Chastain, SVG’s oval improvement was also on display at the Coca-Cola 600.

The Kiwi racer entered NASCAR’s longest race on the back of steady improvement in his oval statistics. After that aforementioned dismal start, SVG got his first top-20 oval finish at Darlington Raceway, a track he called his favorite of the season so far, telling Kevin Harvick, “I like Darlington. I love that place.” He then managed some mixed results but hit it big at the Coca-Cola 600, notching up a career-best 14th place at Charlotte. However, if he wants to make a deep playoff run, there’s still a long way to go.

With just seven races remaining before the playoffs begin, Shane van Gisbergen needs to take a leaf out of Chastain’s book to stand a chance of competing for the Bill France Cup. While his skills on road courses are unquestionable, winning the Cup Series will need more than the odd result at Watkins Glen, with SVG admitting, “there are times I haven’t been (competitive).” Qualifying well and maintaining track position will be key for the No. 88 driver to get some decent results on ovals, and with a mentor like Chastain, the Auckland-native will get there eventually.

Van Gisbergen opens up about his struggles

Shane van Gisbergen has had a topsy-turvy rookie season in the Cup Series. On one hand, his results at ovals have left much to be desired, having finished no higher than 14th. However, wins in Mexico City and the Chicago Street course have cemented his place in the playoffs, and with the race in Sonoma on the horizon, it’s well within the realm of possibility that he might make it three wins in the last five races. But despite the positives, SVG couldn’t help but look back at his embarrassing finish at Bristol earlier this year.

Van Gisbergen ended up 38th at the 2025 Food City 500, his worst finish of the year. Sharing his reasons, the Kiwi driver said, “There’s just nowhere to go. Bristol is so far removed from anything I’ve ever done. You look at that corner, and when you’re driving down the straight, you feel you’re driving into a brick wall. It’s a vertical wall ahead of you, and you’re kind of dropped in, and you tell yourself, next to no brakes, and the car will just stick. It’s mind-blowing thinking you can corner that fast. And that concrete. I’ve never driven on concrete before. You do have grip, but when it rubbers up, you have no grip. You’ve gotta go searching somewhere, and the track just, it’s like a dirt track, how much it moves.”

With another race at Bristol Motor Speedway in the playoffs, Shane van Gisbergen will hope to fare better at the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Night Race. His rookie season was always going to be a steep learning experience, but the 36-year-old has repaid Justin Marks’ faith by doing what he does best. Performing on road/street courses when it mattered. Now it’s a matter of getting his act together at ovals, where he’s shown steady improvement. And if he can grind out results like Ross Chastain on such tracks, there’ll be no stopping SVG. Do you think the Kiwi can put together a solid playoff run in 2025? Let us know in the comments!