“We just keep building”: Shane van Gisbergen reacts after personal best NASCAR finish on ovals

Shane van Gisbergen had his best oval track finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Pennzoil 250, where he secured a P4 place. In his post-race interview, the Kaulig Racing driver shared insights into what worked for the team this time and how he's been fine-tuning his communication about what he needs from the car.

His performance in Indianapolis is only second to his fuel-saving third-place finish at Atlanta in his debut NASCAR Xfinity Series season. This latest result has moved him up to 13th in the points standings.

Discussing his relationship with his team, Shane van Gisbergen said:

"It's more just building and knowing we can do it, you know, and knowing what I need from the car I was asking for adjustments now. I guess I've started knowing what adjustments do and if Bruce suggests something I can say yes or no. Yeah, just learning what I need from the car and we just keep building." [at 2:29]

Shane van Gisbergen began the race in P23 and made his way forward when a 12-car pileup unfolded right in front of him on the opening lap. He managed to dodge the disaster as Sammy Smith, racing right beside him in the #97, was hit and spun out by Sam Mayer. Van Gisbergen then surged into the top 10 and maintained his position through the first two stages, staying within the top five until a late caution was triggered by a significant three-car wreck on the back straight with 16 laps remaining.

The Kiwi driver made a strategic pit stop, opting for fresh tires, which initially set him back to P13 just ahead of a restart with 11 laps left, where Cole Custer took the lead followed by Herbst. However, just two laps later, van Gisbergen fought his way back into the top five, narrowing the gap to the leader to just three seconds.

With four laps to go, van Gisbergen overtook his teammate AJ Allmendinger, climbing to fourth place. Despite facing a four-second gap to the front pack, which was tightening up for a nail-biting finish, he held his position. By the race's close, Shane van Gisbergen secured fourth place, just ahead of Sheldon Creed.

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Shane van Gisbergen has high praise for the Xfinity cars

In the practice session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, three-time Xfinity Series race-winner Shane van Gisbergen clocked the P27 fastest time. Despite the modest start, he spent much of the race in the top ten to secure a strong finish on his own merit.

However, he attributed his success to the performance of his Xfinity car, saying:

"I feel like I have been getting better every week with the ovals and improving and I'm just patient, I guess. I just build up, get better and better. And in the race I got more confident. [...] It’s just really fun racing, you know, these Xfinity cars are awesome to race." [at 1:44]

Having already clinched a spot in the playoffs, Shane van Gisbergen is in a great position to compete for the Xfinity Rookie of the Year award. Currently, he sits in P13 place with 500 points, closely trailing Jesse Love who has 587 points ranked 7th following the Pennzoil 250 race.