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Shane van Gisbergen has been a hot topic in NASCAR since the three-time Supercars champ debuted in the sport last year at the 2023 Grant Park 165. The New Zealander tamed his Trackhouse Racing's #91 Chevy on the Chicago Street Course and fended off dominant veteran drivers to bag his maiden Cup Series win on debut. He is thus a deserving option for the Series as it looks to add more races on its schedule.
The odds of acing the street course in Chicago were quite slim as Justin Haley led the pack with just three laps remaining - but the moment the debacle went into overtime and got extended from 75 to 78 laps, Shane van Gisbergen grabbed the lead and gunned towards the checkered flag to become the first driver in NASCAR's history to bag a Street Race win.
After his triumph, Trackhouse Racing offered him another chance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Chevy driver posted a 10th-place finish and became the second driver after Terry Labonte in 1978 to have two top-10s in one's first two NASCAR stints.
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Van Gisbergen gelled quite quickly with the high-octane stock cars which generally takes a few races, if not more, for the driver to transition from touring car racing to NASCAR. The 35-year-old proved his prowess, and the next year, he landed a contract with Trackhouse Racing, to field Kaulig Racing's #97 Chevy in the Xfinity Series.
The Auckland native started his rookie Xfinity season with a 12th-place finish at the season-opener race at Daytona International Speedway. However, he was fifth fastest during the qualifying and plummeted later during the United Rentals 300. Further, the next race at Atlanta Motor Speedway witnessed Shane van Gisbergen come home with a podium finish in P3.
The following ten races saw the Kaulig Racing driver collect a single top-10 at Phoenix Raceway. But soon after, he proved yet again his ability to pick up speed when needed.
Shane van Gisbergen's Xfinity Series dominance
After lackluster displays for nearly ten races, van Gisbergen geared up his stock car racing game, setting the second-fastest speed during the qualifying run at Portland International Raceway. During the final restart, the #97 Chevy driver fought a close battle against Justin Allgaier to bag his maiden Xfinity Series triumph. But the New Zealander's display of dominance wasn't over yet.
He bagged his first NASCAR pole at the recently concluded Sonoma 250 in California. After dominating 32 of the 79 laps and snatching the lead from Austin Hill after the final restart, van Gisbergen etched his second consecutive Xfinity Series victory.
The point to consider is that Shane van Gisbergen is particularly strong on the street circuits and road courses than the conventional ovals that NASCAR is used to compete on. Not only did he bag a win in his debut Cup Series race but also set the third-fastest speed during the qualifying.
During his Xfinity race at the Circuit of The Americas, though the #97 Chevy driver stooped to a 27th-place finish, he stood second-fastest during the qualifying run. Furthermore, the recent races at Portland and Sonoma saw the 35-year-old dominate both the qualifying and the race.
Moreover, all his NASCAR wins came after he maturely battled tense situations like the race overtime or final restarts by showing the pedigree of a seasoned NASCAR driver. This proves Shane van Gisbergen can be banked on during unfavorable race situations.
The Kaulig Racing driver is the only person in NASCAR history to have led laps in four of their first five Cup Series races. The 35-year-old achieved the feat by leading the field at Chicago, COTA, Talladega, IMS and the Coca-Cola 600.
With that, Shane van Gisbergen has ticked several boxes including having great control of the stock car, three NASCAR victories in the arsenal, and the ability to battle through challenging situations. Moreover, his prowess in road course racing makes him arguably among the best rookies out there and with NASCAR looking to add more street races to their calendar, the New Zealander can turn out to be a great addition to the Cup Series scene.
