Two weeks ago, Austin Dillon dazzled his fans. He won the Cook Out 400 race, defending his 2024 victory, which was wrapped in controversy due to a late-race bump-and-run. Dillon won legitimately this time, leading 107 of 400 laps. He also pushed through the tough laps on the 0.75-mile short track with a broken right rib that has bothered him for three weeks. Despite working hard to prove his mettle, Dillon’s win is overshadowed by NASCAR’s playoff system, which Shane van Gisbergen also faces.

Dillon is competing alongside SVG in the 2025 playoffs, with the latter having won 4 races this season. However, SVG has also faced repeated criticism for being dominant just on road courses, as all five of his top tens came on these tracks. Nevertheless, his old colleagues found fault with the system instead.

Shane van Gisbergen is favored over his rival

We all know the raging controversy around the NASCAR playoff system. Joey Logano’s 2024 Cup Series championship was a boiling point. The Team Penske driver’s average finish was 17.1, which ranked 13th in the series. He had just the 12th-most points scored — fewer than Chris Buescher, who didn’t even make the playoffs. Despite these dismal stats, Logano performed at his best when it mattered the most, during the playoffs, and won the title. Similarly, Austin Dillon punched his ticket into the playoffs due to NASCAR’s win-and-you’re-in system. He was 28th in points entering Richmond without a single finish higher than seventh. Dillon had just three top 15 finishes with nothing higher than 10th.

Hence, Shane van Gisbergen’s Supercars colleagues – Elliot Barbour and Scott Pye – observed something. Speaking in a ‘Stacking Pennies’ episode, Pye compared SVG and Dillon’s positions: “Shane got a lot of heat for winning road courses… Austin Dillon, he’s one spot behind him in points, but he won one… That doesn’t feel like it’s hit the mainstream and gone. Why is he in the playoffs?”

Barbour questioned the NASCAR playoff system altogether, featuring four elimination rounds in the postseason. While it satisfies former CEO Brian France’s ‘Game 7′ motives, it entirely negates the drivers’ year-long consistency. Hence, Shane van Gisbergen’s 4 victories may not mean much. Barbour said: “If I’m just putting the fan hat on…I like it because it’s unknown. It goes down to the last race. I think it adds excitement for a fan. I’m sure if I was a driver, though, had a really consistent year, and I was kicking up, I’d hate it.”

Supercars has adopted a similar format in the 2025 season. In a seismic shift from a format in place since 1969, two rounds are heading into the playoffs to ensure that the title fight will go down to the wire. Scott Pye criticized this as well, observing Broc Feeney’s disposition. “In the last four races, he’s won two or three of the races every weekend…There’s a chance he could win 20 races this year…In the second last round, if he crashes out or whatever, there’s a chance he may not even make the final four.” Pye slipped a wish: “I would love to see the guy that beats the other three wins the championship.”

Clearly, the Supercars stars do not wish to see NASCAR’s flaws enter their home turf. Meanwhile, however, their colleague is rolling up his sleeves for a showdown in this format.

Should we expect another surprise?

In July 2023, Shane van Gisbergen flung a jaw-dropping surprise at NASCAR fans. Despite his fresh move from New Zealand to the USA, the Kiwi Speedster proved that a difference in racing styles was no barrier to him. He won his first Cup Series race on his debut, a feat that IndyCar driver Johnny Rutherford last did in 1963. Now, as SVG prepares for his first full-time Cup Series playoff run, he is harboring a similar strategy. Veterans like Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have downplayed his chances of survival in the Round of 16. With his oval racing fate, SVG also does not attract much hope from fans. However, the Kiwi is banking on that very lack of belief.

Shane van Gisbergen is hoping to surprise NASCAR yet again. He said, “We’re in an amazing spot to be here, and we have no expectation to make it to the second round. No one knows what we’re going to do. So, if we go and perform, we can surprise some people.” The first round features Darlington, a place where he finished 20th and 26th. He has never raced at Gateway and suffered suspension issues in Bristol. Yet SVG is brimming with optimism: “It doesn’t worry us. It puts no pressure on us, right? If we have a good week this week, it takes the next few harder. But if we have a tough week, it puts us in a hole, and it’s going to be hard to get out of it…Hopefully, it’ll be nice to prove people wrong.”

Hence, SVG is trying to thrive in the playoffs despite NASCAR’s flaws. Let us see if he can manage to survive the elimination rounds and advance.