And just like that, out of nowhere, Shane van Gisbergen finds himself third on the current Cup Series playoff standings with 17 playoff points. The former Australian Supercars champion recorded his third victory of the season at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday. All his wins so far have come on road courses, to nobody’s surprise. But how far will this expertise take him? Stephen Doran has some ambitious views.
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The No. 88 Trackhouse Racing team’s crew chief spoke to the press after the race on Sunday and mentioned his thoughts on where his driver could finish the season. He said, “Just need to keep improving on the ovals. Get to the point where we can maintain and advance in some of these early [playoff] rounds. Like you said, the round of four is not out of the question.”
The fourth round in the playoffs is the Championship 4. Could van Gisbergen be one of the four drivers competing for the title in Phoenix in his rookie full-time Cup Series season? It would be quite the achievement. But it ought to be remembered that he is still not very adept at tackling the ovals, and there is just one road course (Charlotte Roval) in the entirety of the postseason.
His performance on ovals is still a work in progress. He has secured no top-10 finishes on these tracks so far. His best finish came at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he ended up in 14th place. Out of the 20 races run so far, he has nine finishes outside the top-20, and he did not finish three more races. This has put him 26th on the points table despite having three wins.
Van Gisbergen on his progression on ovals
Given his poor results on ovals, which are the bread and butter of NASCAR racing, van Gisbergen cannot possibly survive long in the playoffs. But he stressed to the press at Sonoma, ahead of Sunday’s race, that he is getting better at it. He pointed out that the difference between road course racing and oval racing was like night and day before breaking down his thoughts.
Van Gisbergen said, “When you watch some of these guys drive, like there are people on an oval that are unbelievable. So fast and they come here and they’re two seconds off, you know?
“It’s just like, it’s a completely different sport, almost, the road courses versus ovals. So yeah, I feel like I’m getting better and better, but I still have so much to learn on ovals, and every week I’m developing, learning something new.”
The quicker SVG learns, the higher the probability that Doran’s goal is achieved. For now, the No. 88 team can take a short breather before resuming work to achieve a good result at the Dover Motor Speedway.
