To understand just how good Shane Van Gisbergen has become on NASCAR’s road and street courses, it helps to listen to the drivers trying to beat him.
After finishing runner-up to the New Zealander at Sonoma Raceway, NASCAR Cup Series veteran Chase Briscoe delivered perhaps the ultimate compliment.
“I felt like I was playing one-on-one against Michael Jordan,” said Briscoe, an almost 200 start NASCAR Cup Series racer.
“I had every opportunity to beat him and I blew it. You got to be perfect to beat Shane and I wasn’t perfect at the end of the day.”
Briscoe spent the closing laps of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 hunting down Van Gisbergen, convinced he had the fastest car—or at least one capable of overtaking the No. 97 Red Bull Chevrolet. As the gap shrank, Van Gisbergen knew he had to draw upon all his experience on road courses, as his tyres rapidly wore away.
“The last 10 laps I really was in a world of hurt. It was pretty tense in the end,” Van Gisbergen said. “We didn’t have the strongest car. I felt good for a while and 10 laps to go I felt my tyres slip. I started shitting myself when the gap was eating away.”
Despite the pressure, Van Gisbergen held on to claim back-to-back victories at Sonoma, adding another remarkable chapter to what is becoming one of the most dominant road-course careers in modern NASCAR history.
The victory was his eighth NASCAR Cup Series win in just 16 starts on road and street circuits—a staggering 50 percent strike rate in only his second full-time Cup season.
The triumph also elevated the Kiwi to the winningest active NASCAR Cup Series driver on road and street courses. He now sits just one victory behind Jeff Gordon’s modern-era record of nine Cup road-course wins.
Adding to the achievements, Van Gisbergen also became the most successful foreign-born driver across NASCAR’s Cup and O’Reilly Xfinity Series, recording his 14th combined victory.
Briscoe believes the Kiwi’s talent extends far beyond NASCAR.
“I think Shane is one of the greatest road course drivers in the world.” Briscoe said.
“An F1 driver doesn’t want to hear that. But he’s an unbelievable road racer. He’s an unbelievable race car driver, even on ovals, what he can do and then when it comes to tyre management – I feel like he is the best in the world. He is unbelievable, just how he can make speed but also save tyres.”
Van Gisbergen’s own crew chief, Stephen Doran, admitted the Kiwi was the deciding factor in turning an uncomfortable race car into a winning one.
“Thank god we have him, or we would not be here right now,” said Trackhouse crew chief Stephen Doran after the race.
“We did a lot of work overnight trying to get it better. I am still really not sure what it was that he didn’t like about it, but he honestly hated the car all weekend.”
While others are quick to praise his ability, Van Gisbergen remains measured when the subject turns to his performances on oval tracks. He insists that side of NASCAR remains a work in progress and believes there is no substitute for on-track experience.
“The ovals are my learning. It’s what I’m focusing on getting better at, (but) that’s coming,” he said.
“I’m still the weak link as a driver. But I’ve got good teammates in the other cars and they’re struggling as well. So, we all need, as a team need to improve, and it’s going to come through hard work and trying to emulate what the other Chevy’s are doing. They have really stepped up the last couple of months, and we need to do the same.”
After spending 17 seasons in Supercars and winning three championships, Van Gisbergen admits the challenge of mastering oval racing has reignited his passion for the sport.
“I knew it would be difficult but I’ve enjoyed that,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed having to struggle to get better and learn.”
“I had a really good career in V8 Supercars. I’ve been there for 17 seasons. So, I’ve done it for a long time. It’s lucky as drivers we have a long shelf life as a career so it’s like a second career, (racing in NASCARS) I guess. Starting again was a good refresh, what I needed at the time.”
Van Gisbergen made the move to the United States in 2023 after becoming frustrated with the direction of Supercars’ Gen3 era, where tyre conservation often outweighed aggressive racing.
In NASCAR, he has found a style that better suits his instincts.
“There’s a lot more openness with the rules which is pretty good,” he said.
“I feel like if you give people respect, they give it back. And when they don’t, you work it out. So, it’s pretty good like that. It’s always a grey area back home (V8 Supercars). It’s very different here.”
Even after rewriting NASCAR’s road-course record books in record time, Van Gisbergen believes the depth of competition is one of the championship’s greatest strengths.
“I feel like it’s a very competitive sport, where so many drivers can win and you are not versing the same team or same people every time. You never know who’s going to be fastest every week,” he said.
“That’s the beauty of the sport. 15 guys can win on Sunday so that makes it exciting. There are more people at a better level here (compared to V8 Supercars).”
If his rivals are right, however, beating Van Gisbergen on a road course still requires something close to perfection. As Briscoe discovered at Sonoma, even having the faster car isn’t always enough when the man ahead is drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan.
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