Shane van Gisbergen Admits NASCAR Surprised Him: ‘I Enjoyed It More Than I Thought’ After Rookie Cup Season

Shane van Gisbergen had a highly successful rookie year in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he secured five wins and finished 12th on the points table. While all of his wins came on road courses, he made rapid strides on the oval tracks as well.

Van Gisbergen arrived in the United States in 2023 to race in the inaugural Chicago Street Course event. He emerged as the surprise victor there. And his entry into full-time Cup Series competition had been highly anticipated since then.

SVG has proven through his performance in 2025 that the hype built around him wasn’t for nothing. And he admitted to the press in Phoenix that the year went by a lot better than he expected it to.

“That’s what I hoped it would be. I have enjoyed my racing more than I thought. I didn’t know what it would be like doing the same thing every single weekend because I was used to trying different series in different disciplines,” said van Gisbergen.

“Doing the same thing all year, I wasn’t sure how I’d find it. But yeah, I have really liked that. I like the challenges. I like how the tracks vary throughout the year,” he added.

Shane van Gisbergen, the Rookie of the Year in the Cup Series, wasn’t sure how he would like doing the same thing every weekend. But he’s enjoying his time in the U.S. and in NASCAR.

Plus, what he found he likes in the Cup Series that he didn’t in the Xfinity Series: pic.twitter.com/l3iEhnaQKR

— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) November 4, 2025

 

For a major part of the year, the Trackhouse Racing driver struggled to find his groove on oval tracks. His constant finishes outside the top-10 became a point of concern despite his superior results on road courses.

However, as the season progressed, things got better. At Kansas in September, he finished in 10th place, securing his first top-10 finish at an oval track in the Cup Series.

What van Gisbergen enjoyed the most in 2025

The former Australian Supercars champion was then asked to comment on what he enjoyed this year or what took him by surprise the most.

“I like the intermediate stuff. I didn’t really like that much in Xfinity last year. This year, that’s where I felt like I made the bigger gains in the second half of the year. So, yeah, that type of racing where you can move around at high speeds is pretty cool,” said SVG.

In 2026, Van Gisbergen will be joined by the young superstar Connor Zilisch in the premier tier as a teammate. Their battles this year were a thrilling spectacle to watch. In short, interesting times are ahead for Trackhouse Racing’s No. 88 driver.