Cup Series drivers have long been warned that their jobs will get a lot more difficult once Shane van Gisbergen figures out the trick to race well on the ovals. The Kiwi is simply unbeatable when it comes to road course racing, which he proved in 2025 by winning five races on road courses. And now, he is closer than ever to finding that missing oval-shaped piece of the puzzle as well.
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It was easily noticeable that his results on ovals began improving as the 2025 season came to a close. There was a solid reason for this. In a recent interview with Speedcafe, he spoke about how the pressure of the playoffs had initially been a hurdle to him keeping his momentum and producing good results. But once he got eliminated from contending for the title, a turning point had been reached.
He said, “I didn’t do a good enough job, and that’s the pressure of the playoffs. It felt like we were getting good momentum, and then we just struggled a little bit. I didn’t drive well enough, and yeah, as soon as the playoffs ended, the very next week, we tried some different setups, you know, thinking that, ‘Oh, we’re out of the playoffs. We’ll take some risk with some cars.'”
Interesting tidbit from this Shane van Gisbergen interview with Speedcafe: SVG says his team started trying different setups after being eliminated from the playoffs, “and we really found something that we liked”
“I wish we had tried it a bit earlier, but it’s part of learning.” pic.twitter.com/dKTEKYu2qh
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) December 30, 2025
He has struggled more than his Trackhouse Racing teammates when it comes to front-turn entry. Recognizing that weakness, he leaned on his team to build a setup tailored to his driving style, and the results showed up almost immediately. That adjustment appears to be the driving force behind his improved form over the final six oval races of the season.
The turnaround was evident at New Hampshire, where he qualified 10th and ran inside the top 10 during Stage 1. He followed that up with a 10th-place finish at the demanding Kansas Speedway and a 13th-place qualifying effort at Las Vegas. Over the closing stretch, he finished 11th at Talladega, 14th at Martinsville, and 24th at Phoenix, rounding out a stretch of noticeably more competitive performances.
He continued, “Straight away, I found a lot in the car, and that set a direction for the rest of the year. And yeah, I wish we had tried it a bit earlier, but it’s part of learning.” The determination that he had to get to this point cannot be ignored. He saw his teammates and competitors being able to do the job with expertise and understood that he just needed to learn the techniques.
While he isn’t there yet fully, he is inspired to keep this momentum going in the 2026 season. If nothing else, the final races of the 2025 season were a strong warning to the Cup Series regulars that van Gisgerben has arrived.
