Last summer in Chicago, Shane van Gisbergen stunned the motorsports world when he won his NASCAR debut, an achievement made even more remarkable by the fact that he’d never run a stock car race before. But beyond the trophy and headlines, what stuck with many wasn’t just his performance; it was what happened after. Weeks into his limited NASCAR schedule, SVG was spotted walking through the Cup Series garage area with a mini notepad, diagramming pit road entries and scribbling gear changes like a student cramming for finals.
The Supercars champion, renowned for his precision in Australia, was suddenly dealing with cars that didn’t behave, tracks that didn’t feel familiar, and a racing culture where every tiny misstep was punished on a different level. It wasn’t the racing itself that tripped him up; it was everything else. And now, SVG is opening up about how hard it’s been to decode NASCAR…and why that learning curve might be his most humbling challenge yet.
SVG peels back the layers of the NASCAR code
For someone who arrived in NASCAR as a global racing champion, Shane van Gisbergen’s journey hasn’t come with shortcuts. Even after shocking the racing world with a win on debut in 2023, and following that up with a sweep of both the Xfinity and Cup races in Chicago in 2024, SVG is still wide open about how difficult adapting to NASCAR has truly been. Now with four Cup Series wins in just 34 starts, matching legends like Darrell Waltrip and Martin Truex Jr., he’s statistically entering elite company, especially on road courses. But from his perspective, every step forward came at the cost of starting over.
“Everything I’ve learned last year, I’ve almost had to start again,” Shane van Gisbergen admitted during a recent interview, speaking candidly about recalibrating after moving from Supercars to NASCAR. “The cars are like chalk and cheese. It’s so different.” The biggest shock wasn’t the speed or intensity; it was the feel. From braking systems to aero behavior, nothing worked quite like the cars he was used to in Australia. When describing his early Cup Series experience, SVG made it clear that even subtle mistakes like where you position your car in traffic can be catastrophic: “If you hang out to the right in the Cup car… you’re having a big crash. It’s like a little death zone.”
His decision to run a part-time Xfinity schedule throughout 2024, rather than jumping directly into Cup full-time, proved crucial. “I’m glad I did a learning year rather than jump straight into Cup… I would have got swallowed up even more.” That mindset gave him time to decipher the radically different aerodynamics, side-drafting dynamics, and tire wear patterns in stock cars. What helped build confidence wasn’t just raw racing; it was repetition, problem-solving, and simulator work.
Finding the right brake master cylinder size and replicating the “feel” from test scenarios became miniature victories. But translating simulator data to race-day performance required patience. “The sim helps, but translating it… was tough,” he noted. And it wasn’t just the machines that felt foreign—it was the entire environment. From pit lane protocols to figuring out which town he was in, SVG laughed about how overwhelming his rookie year was. “Everything was foreign last year,” he recalled. “At least I know the tracks [now].”
With three consecutive road course wins in 2024, including his dominant performance at Sonoma, SVG has now sealed his reputation as NASCAR’s premier road course racer. Statistically, no one has been more efficient on circuits requiring braking finesse and complex car rotation. He’s not just holding his own, he’s rewriting expectations. Van Gisbergen noted that his impressive stats only tell part of the story. Behind the successes lies a steep learning curve and a need to adapt to the new challenges of NASCAR.
Learning the long game: SVG’s measured climb on ovals
While road courses have highlighted Shane van Gisbergen’s exceptional entry into NASCAR, the deeper story is unfolding far from his comfort zone on America’s ovals. Here, where downforce balance, tire degradation, and race restarts define outcomes more than braking precision, SVG has consciously chosen patience over panic. And patience, as he puts it, is finally starting to reward him.
In a recent reflection on his current trajectory, Van Gisbergen distilled his mindset into five quietly resolute words: “It was going to get better.” That sentiment reveals as much about his mental approach as his driving. It’s not denial of struggle but an acknowledgment that growth requires time, lapses, and missteps. He noted, “COTA was a good day, but on the ovals we’ve really struggled… It’s really tough results-wise but I see a lot of potential and speed. It has been hard because I’m not really known for crashing too much and not finishing… just have to stay out of trouble and get through it.”
He added, “It’s kind of everything. Like the first 10 races were pretty difficult, but we knew it would be growing pains. “After a rocky start in oval racing with finishes in the 20s and 30s, SVG has focused on refining his skills. Through consistent simulation work, better communication with Kaulig Racing engineers, and extra short-track practice, he’s improving crucial aspects like throttle timing in traffic, corner entry lifts, and line choices during fuel runs.
The mental side has been just as telling. Compared to 2024, his 2025 performances suggest stronger confidence even when running mid-pack. Mistakes still happen, but they’re fewer and increasingly instructive. In several recent races, van Gisbergen has not only improved qualifying positions but sustained longer green-flag runs without falling off pace, a critical marker of progress on ovals.
And while his breakout moments continue to come on street and road configurations, there’s a noticeable steadiness developing in oval performance. He’s moved from surviving to competing, push-by-push, pass-by-pass. In SVG’s world, where road course brilliance has already opened doors, it’s his humility on unfamiliar ground that stands out. Not rushing expectation. Not demanding immediate results.
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