Shane van Gisbergen’s (SVG) grip on NASCAR’s road courses continues to tighten, and now even some of the sport’s biggest names are admitting they don’t know how to stop him.
Coming off back-to-back victories at Sonoma Raceway and the Chicago Street Course, van Gisbergen has solidified his status as NASCAR’s undisputed road course king.
In yet another addition to the history books, Van Gisbergen, on his rookie season, has led the most laps on a road course in the Cup Series since Cale Yarborough in 1977.
In the latest episode of Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin, the three-time Daytona 500 winner, alongside co-host Jared Allen and producer Travis Rockhold, devoted the first segment of their podcast to breaking down the Kiwi’s staggering performances, and what makes him so untouchable.
Van Gisbergen’s win this past weekend at Sonoma was a tactical and clinical display. Starting on pole, he powered ahead of the pack and outpaced the field with raw speed and precision, two traits that even seasoned Cup Series veterans were struggling to match with the field, including SVG, reporting rear grip issues throughout the race.
Hamlin admitted that, coming into Sonoma, he expected SVG’s advantage to be smaller.
“The reason I thought that at Sonoma the advantage would be less is because of the amount of laps [experience],” he explained.
“You know, we understand how to approach the corners to get the most speed out of them, but he [SVG] still invents new ways and has ways of being faster. It’s unique. I don’t know how or who is going to catch up to him in the near future.
“Depending on how many road courses they put on the schedule, this guy could lead the series and win year after year.”
Jared Allen echoed the sentiment, reflecting on the disadvantage many expected SVG to face heading into Sonoma.
“It’s wild to think how guys like Kyle Larson have thousands of laps on this track, and SVG only has a few hundred now,” Allen said.
“But with how much practice and laps these full-time Cup Series drivers have at this track, over however many years you’ve been in the series…”
Denny Hamlin agreed, emphasising just how impressive van Gisbergen’s performance truly was.
“It is pretty crazy, no doubt about it,” Hamlin said.
“When he’s able to stretch it out, pit, and still come back and win a stage—that’s just unbelievably amazing.”
Even with every team now able to study SVG’s telemetry and lap data, no one has been able to translate it into results. Allen noted that “every team has all of SVG’s data to work with,” and yet, as Chase Briscoe recently admitted, SVG is still “light years better” and faster than the rest.
“And in control too, you know. If I had to run that speed, I feel like I would be out of control. And what would cause me to be out of control is that my inputs are not as smooth as his, or I’m not approaching it quite the same.” said Hamlin
“So there’s lots to be studied, but man, I don’t know, it’s going to be hard to keep him from not winning three to five races a year based off what we have for schedule.”
Travis Rockhold posed the question on many fans’ minds: With the current playoff format, could SVG be a legitimate threat?
Hamlin was confident.
“He could go through the first round just by not messing up,” he said.
“We’ve said this a million times, the first round, the four guys that exit after round of 16 are usually the ones who have major issues in races—could be mechanicals, could be wrecks, but they have those 30-plus worst finishes.
“And so, you avoid that, especially with him having 17 bonus points. He could go by the first round, and then he’s got the Roval in the second round.”
The Roval being the road-course round in the playoff’s at Charlotte Motor Speedway which consists of a 2.28 mile road course with 17turns that uses parts of the oval track’s layout. Even with that in mind, SVG is one of the favourite’s to win that race.
Reflecting on Chicago 2023
SVG’s first win in the NASCAR Cup Series came just over a year ago on debut at the 2023 Chicago Street Course.
At the time, many in the paddock sought reasons for the historic win: damp conditions, SVG’s street racing background, and timely cautions. But that narrative has changed.
“Of course we thought that the sentiment from everyone who talked about his first win back in 2023 was that it was a street course, that’s his thing, that’s his groove, we were on kind of a wet track, that he’s probably got the most experience doing that and then things worked out perfectly, right?” Hamlin recalled.
“There were some timely cautions and whatnot. So you’re just trying to come up with all these reasons and justification as to why he won that race versus just, ‘Oh, he’s just better than everyone else,’ and that’s what we’re finding out now.”
Allen went further, asking the bold question: “So we’re okay with saying he’s the best road course racer NASCAR has seen?”
Hamlin didn’t hesitate. “I’m okay with it. I think that it’s factual at this point. I don’t know how we can say otherwise because these races aren’t close.”
So, where does this leave the rest of the field? According to Hamlin, not even close.
“Can other drivers in this NASCAR field catch up to him? Can you find another tenth, two tenths to be on par with him?” Allen asked.
Hamlin’s response was stark: “It’s not just one or two tenths, it’s more than that. When you look at average lap times and things like that, it’s significant.
“I don’t think you’re going to beat him straight up. The only shot is when he’s at a disadvantage on tyres or strategy, to have a chance to overtake him. If it’s straight lap time, I don’t see anyone having enough [pace].”
“People in the Cup Series right now—there’s no one that can run with him,” Hamlin said.
Full episode of Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin ⬇️
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to oval racing this weekend at Dover International Speedway, with the race scheduled for Monday, 21st July at 6:00 AM NZT.
Van Gisbergen’s next road course challenge will come on Monday, 11th August (NZST) at Watkins Glen International, where all eyes will be on the #88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to see if the road course reign continues.
Header Image: NASCAR
