Shane van Gisbergen entered his rookie Cup Series season knowing he would have to improve at oval racing. His work has now paid off in the form of his first oval top-10 finish.

The New Zealand native crossed the finish line 10th overall in a double overtime finish at Kansas Speedway on Sunday evening. On paper, this isn’t a groundbreaking achievement, but it showed his immense growth in his first full season.

“It was really cool to get a top-10 finish at Kansas Speedway,” van Gisbergen said after the race. “It was good to do it in a Red Bull car. We’ve had some really cool partners this year and stoked to be able to do it here at Kansas Speedway. I feel like we’re getting better and better at these tracks.”

This top-10 finish on an oval also capped off a day that began with a penalty. NASCAR announced on Saturday that the No. 88 team of Trackhouse Racing had made unapproved adjustments to the car prior to practice. This is illegal.

NASCAR responded by ejecting crew chief Stephen Doran for the rest of the weekend and taking away the team’s pit stall selection. Van Gisbergen had to start the race from the rear of the field and serve a stop-and-go penalty on the opening lap.

The three-time Supercars champion fell to two laps down early in the race. He finished the opening stage in 35th place. Yet, the team continued working. They moved up to 19th by the end of stage 2.

Van Gisbergen then worked into the top 10 even after contact from William Byron put him into Alex Bowman. Once the chaos unfolded in overtime and double overtime, van Gisbergen avoided mistakes. He capped off his most complete performance on an oval track and checked off an important goal.

“It was difficult starting a lap down and having that penalty, but Chais Eliason (interim crew chief) did a great job,” van Gisbergen added. “We had really good speed at points of the race, so I’m stoked to get a top-10. I’m over the moon with that.”

Van Gisbergen now has 10 career top-10 finishes in 45 career starts. Nine have been on street or road courses. The 10th is on an oval, and it sets up even more as he continues gaining experience at the discipline.