NASCAR insider makes clear case about one thing that could be Shane van Gisbergen's “biggest disappointment” in rookie season

Shane van Gisbergen's evolution from Supercars Championships to NASCAR’s top-tier series in the last two years has been marked by impressive achievements, including a debut Cup win at the inaugural Chicago Street Race and three wins at the Xfinity level. However, as SVG is set to compete full-time in the 2024 Cup Series season, NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck expressed his concerns over SVG’s rookie season.

Shane van Gisbergen made 12 starts in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, and his best finish of second place came at Watkins Glen International. He will drive the #88 Chevrolet ZL1 full-time for Trackhouse Racing in the 2025 Cup Series.

In the latest episode of “The Teardown” podcast, the Athletics’ NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck shared his opinion on SVG’s Cup Series rookie season. He believes that if road course specialist SVG failed to secure a win on a road course in 2025, it could be considered a significant disappointment, given his background and expertise in road courses.

“Yeah, he came close at Watkins Glen, but the point is it’s a lot harder to say, ‘Yeah, he may go to every road course and be the fastest guy there, but actually winning NASCAR road course races with late cautions or circumstances or whatever, parts breaking, pit stops — it’s just not always going to come together. And so, he could easily end up as the biggest disappointment if he doesn’t win one of the road courses in the regular season,” Gluck said.

Shane van Gisbergen’s two out of three wins in the 2024 Xfinity season came at road courses—Portland International Raceway and Sonoma Raceway. While the third win came at Chicago Street Course. The 2024 season was his first full-time season in NASCAR’s second-tier series.

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NASCAR insider backs Shane van Gisbergen to make playoffs in the 2025 season

Jeff Gluck is not confident about Shane van Gisbergen’s ability on oval tracks, which are dominant in the NASCAR schedule, but believes he will advance to the 2025 playoffs by winning a road course race.

In the aforementioned podcast, Gluck said:

“I don’t think he’s gonna run well on the ovals… am I gonna pick him to make the playoffs? I am. So, I’m talking a little bit out of both sides of my mouth. I think he’s gonna win a road course race and make the playoffs, but we’ve also seen it’s a lot harder to actually put that into practice. He ran what, four or so road courses this year in Cup and didn’t win.”

Catch Shane van Gisbergen in the 2025 Cup Series season, starting with the preseason exhibition event at Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2.