Nov 9, 2024; Avondale, Arizona, USA; NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Shane Van Gisbergen (97) during the Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Three-time New Zealand Supercars Champion Shane van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing plans to start racing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025. NASCAR YouTuber Eric Estepp recently talked about SVG’s anticipated results in his first Cup Series season in 2025. My Way-Too-Early NASCAR Playoff Predictions | 2025 Edition is a recent YouTube video in which Eric Estepp discussed his expectations for Gisbergen’s performance in his next full-time Cup season with Trackhouse Racing. He discussed SVG’s capacity to compete on oval NASCAR tracks. The YouTuber claims that SVG’s debut season in the NASCAR Cup Series will be difficult.Although he should perform well on road courses, Estepp thinks he will have trouble on intermediate and short oval tracks, where he could finish in the 25th to 30th position on average. SVG might qualify for the playoffs if he wins even one of these races because he is predicted to perform well on road courses and superspeedways.
The 30-year-old also discussed the competitive equipment that Trackhouse Racing offers. The New Zealander will still face difficulties on the tough NASCAR ovals, though. He will receive quality equipment from the track house. Look, the ovals will be difficult for Shane van Gisbergen. He will finish between 25th and 30th in every intermediate and short track race. I’m sure he’ll do alright on Super Speedways, but he won’t be competitive much of anywhere else. But on the road courses, he could dominate, and he just needs to win one out of five. I like those odds.” said Estepp
Shane van Gisbergen will join Trackhouse Racing for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series on August 24, 2024, at the Daytona International Speedway, the company announced.
Shane van Gisbergen on racing in the Cup Series: I have a lot to learn and a lot to get better at.
Shane van Gisbergen competed in the Australian Supercars series, New Zealand Formula First, and Formula Ford Championships prior to joining NASCAR. SVG joined NASCAR in 2024 and participated in 11 Cup Series races and 33 Xfinity races while learning about NASCAR’s requirements. SVG recently told autosport.com that oval racing was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
He could need to approach racecraft, strategy, and car configurations differently. SVG said, “It’s a totally different sport.” “A distinct racing style from anything I’ve ever done. At times, I thought I became competitive, but I still have a lot to learn and improve upon. In order to give himself time to become used to the vehicles and racing culture, Shane van Gisbergen purposefully chose to spend a year in Xfinity before committing full-time to Cup. Before being thrown to the sharks in the Cup series, he said, “it was the right decision to do a learning year and to settle into the country and the racing style.” Speaking on his shortcomings in the sport,
SVG talked about finding the intermediate ovals such as 1.5-mile tracks, challenging. Elaborating on that, he said:“My weakness, I would say, is the intermediates. I’ve had some good results, but I’ve had some pretty average ones as well where I’ve never really been competitive or comfortable.” Citing an example of where he needs to show improvement, Shane van Gisbergen also talked about his 2024 race at Watkins Glen, where he led the Cup race on the final lap before a mistake in the Bus Stop handed the win to Chris Buescher.
