Shane van Gisbergen has had an incredible rookie season in the Cup Series, thanks to his natural skill on road courses. He has visited Victory Lane four times, locked up Rookie of the Year honors early, and made his way into the playoffs.

Unfortunately, despite 22 playoff bonus points, he was not able to advance beyond the first round. The New Zealander finished 32nd in the Southern 500 at Darlington, followed by a 25th place finish at Gateway, and finally a 26th place finish at Bristol.

As a result, he is one of the first drivers eliminated from the 2025 title fight, alongside Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, and Josh Berry.

‘Happy but frustrated’
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“Yeah, I’m happy but frustrated,” said SVG after the race. Proud. It’s a privilege to be here but also pissed at myself. The last few weeks I just haven’t been good enough. I’ve been really doing well, getting better at ovals and I just haven’t performed the last couple weeks. Didn’t understand the track early enough there and what the tires were doing and how to save them. I blame myself at the moment, but thanks to the Trackhouse team we’ve had an awesome year and still not over yet, but I need to be better myself and it’s just going to come with time.”

Saturday’s race was wild in terms of tire wear, which even forced Goodyear to quickly prepare an extra set for the teams mid-race. SVG spun twice during the race after getting run over from behind, and never really managed to get himself into contention.

Looking ahead for SVG

However, there is good news. NASCAR has one more road course still to come, giving him a shot at a fifth win when the series visits the Charlotte Roval. Additionally, his Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain did manage to advance into the Round of 12.

“Yeah, I’ll do everything I can prep-wise, help him [Chastain] study, and now the priority for our team is to get the 1 through to the next round and to the finals,” said SVG about the weeks ahead. “I’m happy to help him.”

SVG also has something to race for beyond race wins and Chastain’s advancement in the final seven races, as positions five through 16 in the final standings are up fro grabs for any playoff driver who doesn’t make it all the way to the final round. No foreign-born driver has ever placed higher than eighth in the championship standings at the Cup level.

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