Shane van Gisbergen can finally let out a deep sigh! In what was supposed to be an uphill battle, especially after his crew chief, Stephen Doran, was ejected for an unapproved adjustment on Saturday, the New Zealander worked his magic after serving a stop-and-go penalty in the opening laps. This left him two laps down, scrapping for the Lucky Dog with Michael McDowell, who was also penalised after Spire Motorsports made unapproved tweaks to the No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro. But no matter the curveball, SVG managed one of his best finishes on an oval in the Cup Series this afternoon.

Speaking to Frontstretch post-race, SVG was very modest in his conquest of the oval: “I don’t know about finally, I think it’s a process. This s*it’s pretty difficult, and I just  — it’s taken me time to get better and better and yeah, the guys are doing a great job with the car and yeah, it was a tough one. We put ourselves two laps down with a penalty and had to come back, and yeah, it was a pretty awesome day. Had good car speed and had a lot of fun. “

SVG came up just one spot shy at the end of stage one on lap 80, but he didn’t have to wait long to claw back onto the lead lap. On lap 89, chaos struck when RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece tangled with John Hunter Nemechek on the front straight. The caution flew, and SVG snagged the Lucky Dog, finally back in the mix.

However, stage 2 was a rollercoaster. The Trackhouse Racing driver battled a tight-handling car and struggled through setup swings that only made things trickier. The caution on lap 212 for JJ Yeley’s spin-off of Carson Hocevar’s nose gave SVG a chance to shine, with quick network voting him from 15th to 12th.

But the following laps weren’t any calmer. But with 41 laps to go, the 33-year-old took a hit from William Byron, nudging him into Alex Bowman and sandwiching the No. 48 Chevy against the wall. Bowman finished two laps down, while SVG feared his own car had sustained damage, only to radio moments later that it might be okay and pressed on.

As the laps ticked down, SVG carved his way towards the top 10. A debris caution on Kyle Busch’s wall tap paused the action with 15 laps remaining. The restart was short-lived as well. In a dramatic first overtime attempt, Zane Smith was involved in a spine-chilling crash. John Hunter Nemechek had pinned Smith against the outside wall, causing him to flip twice down the banking. This triggered a red flag for cleanup. And despite the mayhem, SVG held steady.

Drawing on the insight he has gained from oval tracks and translating them into action, SVG said, “It’s just time on these tracks, like the vehicle dynamics and how the car works and the banking and the speed, the aero, yeah, I’ve started from zero and tracks like this are the most difficult so yeah, I still have a really lot to learn but I’m enjoying it. Cheers.”

After falling outside the top 20 earlier in the stint and finishing stage two in 19th, he regrouped for the final overtime start, launching from ninth and crossing the finish line in 10th ahead of teammate Ross Chastain. The result marked a season-best oval finish for SVG, surpassing his previous highs: 12th at Martinsville last fall and a pair of 14th-place runs at the Coke 600 and Richmond earlier this year.

Despite his penalty-plagued weekend, SVG finished topmost among the Trackhouse drivers. With SVG and Chastain claiming P10 and P11, fellow teammate Daniel Suarez closed off 17th. Now, as SVG has finally conquered the oval, his fellow Kiwi friend urges Gisbergen to dip his toes and maybe conquer IndyCar next…

Can SVG deliver in IndyCar amid Kansas oval success?

SVG and Scott McLaughlin both left Australia to chase racing careers in the United States, experiencing different degrees of success along the way. Three-time supercar champion McLaughlin has not only claimed victory in IndyCar but also believes SVG would excel in single-seater racing.

McLaughlin was honest when asked if he could picture SVG competing in the Indianapolis 500. He said, “I think he’s a little scared of us on the ovals. He’d be awesome at it. He’s just very diverse in what he does with his racing, and he’d be totally fine. It’d be pretty cool, definitely be pretty cool to see him in IndyCar.”

There is, however, one potential hurdle in the 32-year-old’s eyes. He explained, “I tell you what, he would be right on the max point of being able to fit in it, though. He’s a big boy, and it’s not just like height; he’s pretty broad. That’d be another challenge, but I think he would be bloody quick for sure. Just be able to fit in those things—until we get the new car, it’s just a little tight right now.”

He has already proven himself capable in single-seaters, notably winning the New Zealand Grand Prix after starting from the pit lane at Hampton Downs in 2021. While the three-time Bathurst 1000 winner has firmly shifted his focus to stock cars, taking on double duties isn’t unheard of, as shown by Kyle Larson’s recent ventures. However, the 36-year-old has signed a multi-year contract extension to stay with Trackhouse Racing. So, his IndyCar run seems impossible in the near future.

And now, as the Cup garage heads to Charlotte Roval next weekend, Suarez warns the field of major shakeups. However, Trackhouse had one of its best and most challenging outings so far. With momentum and speed on their side, they can certainly deliver when it matters the most.