After winning his first-ever Cup race in the inaugural Chicago Street Race in 2023, Shane van Gisbergen has worked hard to build a career as a competitive and successful NASCAR driver. But in a sense, beginner’s luck has turned into somewhat of a curse for him.
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He did well in his first and only full season in the Xfinity Series last year, earning three wins and finishing a respectable 12th in the final standings. However, in his first full season in the Cup Series, van Gisbergen has had ongoing struggles to adapt to the heavier and faster stock car.
As he prepares to hopefully race his way into this weekend’s NASCAR All-Star Race at the 0.625-mile paved North Wilkesboro Speedway short track, van Gisbergen has been doing a lot of thinking on how he can not only let it all hang out in the non-points All-Star Race (if he transfers from the All-Star Open event), but to also pick up some tips to use at other upcoming oval tracks.
When asked earlier this week if ovals are proving to be more difficult than he thought, van Gisbergen was candid.
“Yes and no,” he said about the difficulty factor. “I never expected them to be easy, but I thought I was making strides last season in Xfinity and really getting some good results halfway through the year. This year we’ve had glimpses but really, qualifying is my weakness. Then in races, once you are buried, it’s so hard to pass in these cars.”
“I need to be a bit better with car placement and getting up to speed quicker. It’s so difficult when you only have 15-20 minutes of practice, then straight into qualifying. It’s hard to get up to speed on these places I haven’t been before. It will take time and I’m not trying to force it or get desperate. Just going to keep working and building,” he went on to add.
Heading into this weekend’s NASCAR All-Star Race, van Gisbergen is 35th in the Cup standings. His best finish to date has been sixth at Circuit of the Americas. That’s not surprising since he has a history of success on road courses in his previous stint as a driver in Australian Supercars, where he was a three-time champion.
But this year, other than his strong showing at COTA, van Gisbergen has had ongoing difficulty acclimating to oval racing in the Cup Series. His best finish in an oval race thus far this year has been 20th at both Darlington and this past Sunday at Kansas. In fact, of the 11 ovals he’s competed on this season, he has seven finishes of 29th or worse.
He also wrecked out in back-to-back races at Phoenix and Las Vegas and saw another race day come to yet another early finish when his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet suffered suspension issues at Bristol.
Where does van Gisbergen go from here?
The next points-paying Cup race will be the longest race of the year, the 600-mile Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25, the same day as the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the afternoon.
While van Gisbergen hopes his luck on ovals begins to turn around at Charlotte, for now he’s going to try and relax and enjoy the All-Star Race. Fans have made him a high pick in the fan vote and he’s hoping to race his way into the main event by doing well in the All-Star Open, which is held about two and a half hours before the All-Star Race this Sunday evening.
“I think it is going to be fun to do something different,” the New Zealand native said. “The format looks pretty cool with qualifying involving the pit crew. It’s pretty awesome that I’m a top-five driver in fan votes, thanks to all my supporters! Hoping we can race for a million dollars (the prize that goes to the winner of the All-Star Race) on Sunday.”
The All-Star Race being a non-points affair could ease the pressure on SVG, giving him a chance to pick up a trick or two that might help turn his fortunes around once regular-season racing resumes.
