Shane van Gisbergen made giant strides towards improving his oval-racing skills in 2025 and at the same time, he also flaunted his already stellar road course racing skills and proved to the racing world why Justin Marks went through the trouble of making a full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series. But all this work has left him with little space to pursue other interests.
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Van Gisbergen said in an interview with Speedcafe in December that he would love to dip his toes in other forms of racing, but doesn’t find the time to do so after spending 37-38 weeks in the Cup Series. By the time the season ends in America, the shutters go down in Australia and New Zealand as well.
That said, he does hope to participate in some races in New Zealand in 2026. “I’d love to go do some races there, and you know, cuz it’s pretty shut down here in America this time of year,” he stated.
“The winters are harsh, and I would love to get home and spend more time in the summer. [It] would be good.” Asked if he would be okay with racing in the 24 Hours of Daytona or in the Chili Bowl during the offseason, he delivered a clear “no”.
Van Gisbergen admitted that he had a pretty good option to race in the 24 Hours of Daytona, but passed on it since that time of the year is pretty demanding and he wanted to spend all his energy in Trackhouse Racing. This limitation could frustrating to handle, but fortunately, he is taking it in a positive stride.
Van Gisbergen loves the grind he is going through
Van Gisbergen raced for 36 weeks in a row last year and took some well-deserved break after emerging victorious in five of them. It is only fair that he feels burnt out after going through such a lengthy ordeal.
While he does appreciate the rest, he is also greatly enjoying the grind. “I think I had a week and a half where I was like, ‘Yep, get some energy back.’ It was good to relax and then I’m now I’m being bored,” he said.
“You know, I don’t really have much racing planned or much to do. I redid my garage and did a bit around home in the sim room and stuff. I’m like, ‘What do I do now?’ Like, I really love the racing here and love the routine of it, but also the variety.”
Not racing the same type of track every week and being busy with things like preparation meetings has grown on him. He added that he liked the routine he had to follow. Only a few more wins can make things even more interesting for him. Hopefully, they will come in 2026.
