Shane van Gisbergen states crystal clear expectations before his rookie campaign with Trackhouse: "The results going to have to start coming in"

Ahead of his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Shane van Gisbergen let his expectations known during a recent interview with journalist Bob Pockrass. After winning the Chicago street race in 2023, van Gisbergen became the talk of the motorsports world. The following year, he ran an entire season of Xfinity with Kaulig Racing.

A full season and 33 races later, van Gisbergen was getting tabbed by Trackhouse Racing to drive its No. 88 Cup Series entry. Very few drivers graduate rose through the ranks as fast as the 35-year-old native of Auckland, New Zealand, did.

“I don't have any expectations for it but I guess it's another learning here again because the cars are so different,” Shane van Gisbergen told Bob Pockrass. “Of course, the results gonna have to start coming in and proving especially on the oval side.”

Besides his full-time schedule in Xfinity last year, van Gisbergen did a part-time Cup routine for Kaulig. He ran 12 races and out of those attempts, his best performance (P2) came at Watkins Glen in September. However, he did win races at the Xfinity level, finishing 12th in points.

“I felt like I was getting a lot better and better last year and then at the end of the year I sort of leveled out I guess on Xfinity with a few other exterior things happening but my Cup stuff definitely got better so looking forward to that,” van Gisbergen added.

His first points race of the season will be the 67th running of the annual Daytona 500, scheduled for February 16. Fans can watch the 500-miler live on FOX or listen to radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio from 2:30 pm ET onwards.

Former NASCAR Cup champion analyzes Shane van Gisbergen’s run at Bowman Gray

Last Sunday (February 2) marked the return of the NASCAR Cup series to Winston-Salem’s historic Bowman Gray Stadium for the first time since 1971. Shane van Gisbergen started the event 10th and finished ninth.

In an episode of the Happy Hour Podcast, Kevin Harvick explained what he thought about the three-time Bathurst 1000 winner’s bid at the iconic quarter mile. The 2014 Cup Series champion said:

“He had a good qualifying run, had a good heat race. Put himself in a good position to be competitive all night and ran a good race,”

According to Harvick, short tracks like Bowman Gray and Martinsville won't be an issue for Shane van Gisbergen, who needs to hone his skills further for the ovals.

“I think as we go to some of these other styles of racetrack I think that there will be some learning curve there, but it seems like the Martinsville, Bowman Gray style racetracks are not going to be that issue for SVG,” Harvick added.

Shane van Gisbergen has competed at Daytona International Speedway before ARCA and Xfinity, but never in the crown jewel Daytona 500. So, winning the feature will not only corkscrew his position at Trackhouse Racing but also in the Cup Series as a whole.