Shane van Gisbergen may be the ace of NASCAR’s road courses, but his success rests just as much on the man atop the pit box. Crew chief Stephan Doran has played an equal hand in SVG’s four road course victories this season, and together the pair now turns its focus to Gateway for the second playoff race.
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Before heading there, Doran recently appeared on Chris Weaver’s talk show to retrace his NASCAR journey. A Butler, Pennsylvania native, he grew up steeped in dirt racing.
He narrated that his father’s side of the family campaigned dirt modifieds, and by the time he was 10, Doran was already turning wrenches at the track.
By 16, Doran was working for a race team in Ohio, hauling rigs, mounting tires, and changing oil for small local outfits. From ages 18 to 21, Doran moved into dirt sprint cars before heading south to North Carolina.
His first NASCAR stop came in 2006 at Petty Enterprises, where he got the rare chance to work in Richard Petty’s old shop. Soon after, he landed at Stewart-Haas Racing as an engineer on Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 car.
Doran’s first full season as a Cup Series crew chief came with Zane Smith and Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Chevrolet. That role paved the way to Trackhouse Racing, where he now oversees SVG’s rise. While SVG’s road course skills are unquestioned, Doran has zeroed in on helping him master the ovals.
“We’ve gotten a ton better,” he said in an August appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR, noting his driver’s growing confidence and racecraft. And the improvement is visible.
SVG has sharpened his grasp of aerodynamics and track positioning, scoring finishes of 14th at Richmond and 16th at Daytona. With Doran guiding his transition from Supercars, the Kiwi has shown he can hold his own beyond the twists and turns.
Trackhouse reinforced that belief with a multiyear extension, betting big on SVG’s oval progress. Fans, too, are eager to see the No. 88 team prove it can be a threat on every type of track.
