{"id":166960,"date":"2025-08-22T16:58:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T16:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/166960\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T16:58:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T16:58:11","slug":"nascar-rising-star-shane-van-gisbergen-still-learning-the-basics-entering-daytonas-coke-zero-sugar-400-orlando-sentinel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/166960\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR rising star Shane van Gisbergen still learning the basics entering Daytona\u2019s Coke Zero Sugar 400 \u2013 Orlando Sentinel"},"content":{"rendered":"

DAYTONA BEACH \u2014 Shane van Gisbergen\u2019s meteoric rise<\/a> from Australian road racing champion to NASCAR winner has required he learn seemingly the simplest and most fundamental aspect of oval racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cTurning left,\u201d he deadpanned. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 36-year-old native of New Zealand similarly struggles to fathom that he has turned a one-off opportunity into five wins in 39 starts<\/a> on the Cup Series, including four in 2025 to tie future Hall of Famer Denny Hamlin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just amazing how it worked out,\u201d van Gisbergen told the Orlando Sentinel this week. \u201cNever planned to do more than one NASCAR race. It snowballed, and now we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen enters the the Coke Zero Sugar 400<\/a> Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway firmly in the playoffs as many veteran drivers scramble for two available spots in the 16-car field, currently held by Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A victory on the sport\u2019s most unpredictable track<\/a>, where multi-car crashes and a two-lap overtime periods often decide the winner, would earn a spot in the playoffs for former Cup Series champions Kyle Busch<\/a> and Brad Keselowski<\/a>, 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr.<\/a>, 2021 500 winner Michael McDowell<\/a> and former Coke Zero Sugar 400 winners Chris Buescher<\/a> and Erik Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"ShaneShane Van Gisbergen (88) celebrates his win of the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 on July 6, 2025. (Audrey Richardson\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, van Gisbergen aims to play it safely and keep his No. 88 Chevrolet ZL1 intact, while working with fellow Trackhouse Racing teammate and 2025 winner Ross Chastain<\/a> to usher Daniel Suarez across the finish line and into the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our teammates is in a must-win situation,\u201d van Gisbergen said. \u201cRoss and I have to help him, but also we don\u2019t want to get involved in a crash before the playoffs start. So, it\u2019s a bit of a Catch-22 at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen himself wrestled with uncertainty when team owner Justin Marks invited him to drive in the Chicago Street Race as part Trackhouse Racing\u2019s Project 91<\/a> to give drivers from other racing circuits a taste of NASCAR.<\/p>\n

The Auckland native with three Supercars Championships<\/a> (2016, 2021, 2022) Down Under had never been to Chicago or faced a similar level of competition. Yet, experience won out as van Gisbergen became the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Indy Car legend Johnny Rutherford<\/a> in 1963.<\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen made just one more NASCAR start in 2023, finishing 10th in the Brickyard 200 on the Indianapolis Speedway\u2019s road course. In 2024, he moved to North Carolina to join NASCAR full time, driving a full 33-race schedule on the Xfinity Series and making a dozen Cup Series starts before joining full time in 2025.<\/p>\n

Timing and van Gisbergen\u2019s talent have proved to be winning combination amid the sport\u2019s push for a more diversified schedule.\u00a0All eight of his wins, including three Xfinity victories in \u201924, have come on road courses, making him the driver to beat away from ovals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s what I\u2019ve sort of grown up doing and been used to all my life,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been lucky driving for a great team this year. Every week, we\u2019ve sort of executed. I\u2019m just sort of riding the wave and having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ShaneShane van Gisbergen (88) is introduced before the start of a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Watkins Glen, N.Y., on Aug. 10, 2025. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/p>\n

NASCAR decision-makers modified the 2021 season to include seven road races, up from three in 2020 when the format captured fan interest in a sport hungry for more.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Orlando Sentinel<\/a> at the time, Hamlin questioned the thinking, given the sport\u2019s oval-track ethos.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re overreaching a little bit with our road-course stuff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While van Gisbergen has capitalized, he pushes to prove he\u2019s no-one trick wheelman.<\/p>\n

He is 4-of-5 on road courses this season. But has an average finish of 26th in 20 appearances on ovals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s 30 good guys who can win on a weekend,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the deepest fields of talent I\u2019ve ever raced in. Normally only you only have two to eight guys in most series that can win, let alone three-quarters of the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough to be on top of your game every week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen is getting there.<\/p>\n

A 14th-place finish last weekend in Richmond, Va., tied for his best showing on an oval and was his fifth top-20 in 10 races after he managed just one top-20 in his first 10 trips to oval tracks.<\/p>\n

The strong showing in Richmond even earned praise from Hamlin, the city\u2019s native son, one of the sport\u2019s all-time greats<\/a> and an established road-course skeptic.<\/p>\n

\"ShaneShane van Gisbergen (88) does donuts on the track after finishing first during a NASCAR Cup Series race in Watkins Glen, N.Y., on Aug. 10, 2025. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/p>\n

Van Gisbergen mimicked Hamlin\u2019s gear-shifting technique and drove a more aggressive line on .75-mile oval, leading Hamlin to call his efforts, \u201cvery innovative\u201d on his \u201cActions Detrimental\u201d\u00a0 podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The driver best known as \u201cSVG\u201d believes he\u2019s just starting to figure out how to turn left while moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just got to keep going,\u201d van Gisbergen said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been on a constant trajectory that\u2019s upward, and it\u2019s been fun to be part of that. Who knows what will happen in the playoffs? But if we get it right, we might go far.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got to keep improving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.<\/p>\n

Coke Zero Sugar 400<\/p>\n

When:<\/b> 7:30 p.m., Saturday<\/p>\n

Where: <\/b>Daytona International Speedway<\/p>\n

TV:<\/b> NBC and Peacock<\/p>\n

Radio:<\/b> Sirius\/XM Ch. 90<\/p>\n

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