Shane van Gisbergen delivered a masterclass at the Bank of America Roval 400, conquering Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course to secure his fifth straight NASCAR Cup Series road course victory. Though his dominance was unquestionable, the playoff battle for the final Round of 8 berth stole much of the spotlight. Still, SVG’s latest win showed that he is here to rule the road courses with an iron fist.
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The Trackhouse Racing driver outpaced Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell to capture the win by 15 seconds, even after being eliminated from playoff contention following the Round of 16.
With 20 laps to go, SVG, armed with fresher tires, began reeling in race leader Larson. The 2021 Cup champion put up a fierce defense, forcing SVG to make a late lunge into Turn 7. The two rubbed fenders as sparks flew, with Larson holding firm. On the next lap, SVG regrouped and executed a cleaner move to seize the lead, while Larson chose not to contest the spot as aggressively.
Afterward, SVG admitted he “gave Larson a bump into 7,” expecting some room that never came, and added that he couldn’t back out once committed. Then, almost immediately, Larson was angry and swiped at SVG, though SVG called it “probably fair enough.” Larson later said he wanted to put on a show, even knowing it was a losing battle.
Despite his flawless road form and some improvement on the ovals, SVG remains wary of traditional ovals as the playoffs roll into the final rounds. “All tracks are difficult. Like Vegas next week, going there and having to hold it wide open at 320 and 190, probably, whatever miles that is, it’s a crazy feeling and something I’m not comfortable with,” he said.
“It’s so fast when you hook into those corners there. Then when you do it in the race around other cars, that’s where I’m learning, trying to get comfortable, know where to place the car in the air, and try and understand what’s happening.”
SVG added, “It’s just taking time. Martinsville, the short tracks, they’re getting better for me, and finally starting to get results at them too. Martinsville, I think I did a decent result last year, and hopefully we just build on that. We had a bit of a shocker at the start of the year with wheels falling off literally, so hopefully we can be better.”
To accelerate his oval learning curve, SVG has spent 2025 honing his craft in Legend cars while competing in the Cook Out Summer Shootout Series at Charlotte, where he captured his first pavement oval win in July.
The extra seat time has paid off. He qualified 11th at Indianapolis, snagged pole at North Wilkesboro, and started 10th at New Hampshire. In Kansas, he clawed from deep in the pack to claim his first-ever top-10 finish on an oval.
The #88 Trackhouse Racing driver‘s steady rise on ovals shows that it’s only a matter of time before he goes toe-to-toe with NASCAR’s best, not just on road courses, but on their home turf too.
