Shane van Gisbergen’s winning streak on road courses has fans and drivers talking, and not all of it is praise. After his fourth straight road course victory at Watkins Glen, a veteran is calling for NASCAR to rethink its schedule. The concern? Too many road courses, and one driver dominating them all.

The Kiwi has won four straight road course races, Mexico City, Chicago Street Circuit, Sonoma, and Watkins Glen, each with commanding margins, including an 11.1-second blowout at The Glen this year. All five of his career Cup wins have come on road courses, and he’s tied with Denny Hamlin for most wins this season.

But with SVG running the table on road courses, chatter is starting to build around whether NASCAR’s schedule has tilted too far. Some recent pushback hints at a shift in mood, is this just a call to restore balance, or is van Gisbergen’s winning streak stirring up something deeper?

When dominance becomes predictable: The SVG effect

On the recent podcast, Dirty MO Media, veteran journalist Jeff Gluck expressed his frustration. He suggested that the number of road courses on the NASCAR schedule should be drastically reduced. “In the moment right now, I want fewer road courses. Three or four a year is fine. I’m almost like, let’s get back to one or two at this point. And I don’t know what you’d cut, but this is horrible.”

He also argued that Shane van Gisbergen’s road course dominance has made the races feel too predictable, even dull, because he’s simply outperforming the rest of the field by such a wide margin. “There’s probably nothing you can do to thwart SVG. I don’t know what you’d do, SVG. I don’t know this guy, but this guy, let’s face it, I mean he’s stinking up the show, and the races with the Next Gen car on road courses aren’t good anyway.”

Gluck also criticizes the Next Gen car’s performance on road courses, suggesting it contributes to dull racing, “The races with the Next Gen car on road courses aren’t good, anyway.”

A lot of people in the NASCAR world aren’t loving how many road courses have been added lately, and Brad Keselowski is one of them. The RFK driver has been outspoken critics of NASCAR’s increasing emphasis on road and street courses. He believes the sport’s identity is rooted in oval racing and has voiced concerns that the shift toward more twisty layouts dilutes what made NASCAR special.

In a widely shared post, Keselowski said, “We went from 2 to 6 Road course races, Possibly 7 next year. NASCAR was successfully built as a primarily oval racing series. IMSA was built as the primary road course series in North America. IMSA will always do road racing better than NASCAR and that’s ok. Yes, TOO Many Road courses in NASCAR.”

His frustration intensified after a crash at the Chicago Street Course knocked him out early, reinforcing his view that street circuits leave little margin for error. Despite having solid performances at tracks like Watkins Glen, where he’s had multiple top-10s and runner-up finishes, Keselowski maintains that NASCAR should prioritize its oval roots.

However, Shane van Gisbergen is continuing his heroic run on road courses. And his latest road course win wasn’t just about numbers, it was a powerful personal milestone.

Van Gisbergen’s road course streak finds deeper meaning

Shane van Gisbergen’s fourth straight road course triumph wasn’t just a statistical feat, it was a deeply personal moment. With his father Robert watching from pit road for the first time this season, the win carried emotional resonance, marking a high point in a year shadowed by family loss.

“He hasn’t been able to travel all year, being sick. To have him here for the next three weeks and have a win with it, it’s just really cool to have that moment,” van Gisbergen said.

Robert van Gisbergen has endured a devastating stretch, losing his wife (Shane’s mother Karen Wallace), his sister, and his own mother in the span of a year. Shane, who’s been racing full-time in the U.S., has felt the distance acutely.

“It’s hard to support him when I’m on the other side of the world,” Shane admitted. “That’s probably why I’m the most homesick. Then my sister has moved away as well, so he’s kind of by himself all of a sudden. I try and talk to him every day, and yeah, to have him here, and like he was almost in tears too, it’s really special to share that, because we’re a long way from home”.

SVG’s flawless performance, leading 38 of 90 laps and finishing over 11 seconds ahead of Christopher Bell, tied him with Chase Elliott and Jeff Gordon for the second-longest road course win streak in NASCAR Cup Series history. With five wins in just 38 starts, van Gisbergen is now the fastest to reach that mark since Dan Gurney in 1968. His mastery of technical turns and strategic execution is redefining what it means to be a road course specialist in modern NASCAR.