Team owner predicts SVG will make a deep run in NASCAR playoffs
'It normally hits me on the plane ride home or at 4am after a few beers,' van Gisbergen said after conquering the Watkins Glen International road course in New York for his fourth victory this year. 'I try to reflect on it, but I also try and get to the next week pretty quick. I'll try not to tweet at 4am this morning.'
If the laid-back Kiwi were into chest-pounding on social media, the list of heady accomplishments includes being the third driver with four consecutive Cup wins on road or street courses, joining 2020 champion Chase Elliott and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon.
It also includes being the first rookie with four victories — breaking a tie with seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson and three-time champion Tony Stewart — and the largest margin of victory (11.116 seconds) in Watkins Glen history, and second largest this season behind his 16.567-second win at Mexico City that was the biggest gap from first to second since 2009.
Shane van Gisbergen (88) is introduced before the start of a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Watkins Glen (Source: Associated Press)
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The next achievement could be the loftiest yet for the driver from Auckland, who struggles massively on the ovals that comprise most of the season.
Can van Gisbergen be a legitimate championship contender in Year 1?
Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks, who put his reputation on the line and convinced sponsors to risk millions on an audacious plan to make the Cup playoffs with an inexperienced and unheralded rookie, suggests a deep run awaits the No. 88 Chevrolet.
'Shane just continues to go showcase why we've made a long-term commitment to him, why we brought him over here from New Zealand and built this team around him,' said Marks, who signed van Gisbergen to a multiyear extension last week. 'Because in a sport like this where winning is so important and so hard to do, if you can catch some lightning in a bottle like we've got with SVG, you've got to really lean into it. That's what we've done. It's like seeing a plan come together.'
Shane van Gisbergen (88) drives during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Watkins Glen (Source: Associated Press)
The plan now has a path to the doorstep of a Cup title.
The first round of 16 drivers is contested on three ovals, but van Gisbergen has a sizeable 22-point cushion (victories are worth five points apiece for the playoffs) to overcome a 26.9 average finish on ovals.
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Pared down to 12 drivers, the second round features a road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A win there would catapult a driver into the third round, where eight drivers will square off for four berths in the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway.
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'He's in a really good position,' Marks said. 'I think we have a real opportunity to get to the Round of 8.'
The playoffs open at tricky Darlington Raceway, whose odd shape is among the most difficult layouts in NASCAR, but van Gisbergen is more concerned about the first-round cutoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway. He finished 38th in his April 13 debut on the Tennessee short track.
'I ran terrible there,' said van Gisbergen, who finished 20th a week earlier at Darlington. 'Bristol was so far from anything I've ever done, and that's a really tough place. That's probably the biggest worry. Darlington, I feel fine, especially now that we have a lot of points. You've just got to have three solid weeks, and you might get through. We just have to play the averages, make no mistakes and make sure we're in a good spot every week.'
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