After completing a full-time campaign in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024 and finishing a respectable P12 in the standings, Shane van Gisbergen is gearing up to leap to the Next Gen cars for the 2025 Cup Series season. While his abilities on road courses were evident throughout the year, adapting to ovals proved to be a steeper learning curve than anticipated.
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According to van Gisbergen, even among oval tracks, a specific track category requires more focus on his end. Highlighting his area for improvement, he explained, “My weakness, I would say, is the intermediates – the one-and-a-half-mile tracks. I’ve had some good results, but I’ve had some pretty average ones as well where I’ve never really been competitive or comfortable.”
Underlining the distinction between Cup and Xfinity cars, SVG expressed his eagerness to adapt, stating that intermediate tracks are where the differences between the two cars are most apparent.
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Reflecting on his journey, the Supercars champion admitted that oval racing was an entirely new experience for him. “A different style of racing to anything that I have ever done,” he shared. While he entered the season with zero expectations about results, he acknowledged making progress and becoming competitive at times while still leaving scope for improvement and learning.
Grateful for his Xfinity Series experience, SVG remarked, “I am glad I did a year of Xfinity to learn, even though the cars are a lot different. That was the right decision, to do a learning year and to settle into the country and the style of racing, before getting thrown to the sharks in the Cup Series.”
In his limited 12 starts in the Cup Series this season, Shane van Gisbergen delivered his strongest oval performance at Martinsville during the penultimate race of the season. Starting from P29, SVG climbed to finish P12 by the end of the race.
Martinsville Speedway marked his best oval result in the junior Xfinity Series as well, where he secured P11 in the Dude Wipes 250. Additionally, his P3 finish at Atlanta was an impressive one too, particularly given the challenges posed by the venue.
SVG’s best performance during the 2024 Cup Series season
Gisbergen’s best performance in the 2024 Cup Series came at Watkins Glen International, where he delivered an impressive P2 finish after starting from P3. The race turned into a rousing overtime showdown between SVG and Chris Buescher, with the RFK Racing driver ultimately prevailing in a dramatic finale.
On the final overtime restart, SVG moved up to P4 and made an aggressive move, nudging Buescher out of the way to take the lead. However, the Kiwi knew payback was inevitable. A misstep saw him go off track before Turn 5, giving Buescher the opening he needed. The #17 driver returned the favor, nudging SVG aside and maintaining the lead until the checkered flag fell, securing his first win of the season.
Reflecting on the race, SVG shared, “I moved on from that, but I certainly kicked myself for a couple of days. I would have loved to have won that race, but I made an error and you certainly learn from that. It was an awesome finish and one of the most talked about races on a road course this year. It was great, from that regard.”
As SVG prepares to transition full-time to the Cup Series in 2025, it will be fascinating to watch him compete on road courses against elite drivers like Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson.
