In the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, Shane van Gisbergen captured widespread attention by achieving one of the most notable rookie performances in the sport’s history, securing five wins in road course events with the Trackhouse Chevrolet. However, while his dominance on road circuits lived up to high expectations given his Supercars experience, van Gisbergen’s transition to NASCAR’s oval tracks, a key aspect of the Cup series, has proven far more challenging, highlighting a steep learning curve for the seasoned racer.
Shane van Gisbergen’s background on Supercars circuits prepared him for road racing, but NASCAR’s ovals present an entirely different set of demands. Unlike most of the Cup field, who have been racing on ovals since youth, van Gisbergen entered with minimal exposure to these banked turns and the subtle nuances they introduce. While outsiders may perceive oval tracks as simplistic—often featuring only two primary corners—van Gisbergen points to a complex web of technical details and car setup variables that underpin every lap.
It’s everything. Everything adds up to how difficult it is here. It seems more simple, you would think for two corners, but there’s so many little intricate details of how the cars are set up just to turn one way.
Shane van Gisbergen, reflecting on his NASCAR experience, emphasizes that a successful oval race involves far more than navigating turns. Adapting to banking, optimizing car setup for a singular direction, and managing the car’s interaction with the track surface all compound the challenge. Unlike the predominantly flat or slightly banked circuits he raced on abroad, American ovals demand acclimatization to these unique sensations under race conditions—often with little opportunity to practice.
How they load up and how they feel once you’re on the banking. With the banking, it’s just such an odd, unique feeling that you don’t get in any other form of racing and then you have no practice.
He notes that each Cup driver faces the constraint of limited track time during race weekends—usually just 20 minutes per session—which severely restricts opportunities to settle into the nuances of a new oval. For most competitors, this is less of a hurdle due to deep-rooted familiarity with these tracks from years of grassroots competition. For van Gisbergen, overcoming this deficit is a process that requires time, repetitive exposure, and gradual confidence-building.
You basically have 10 or 15 minutes and one set of tyres and to learn a new track and get ready for the weekend. It’s just taken me time to build up that experience, I guess.
Marcos Ambrose Offers Perspectives on the Path to Oval Mastery
Marcos Ambrose, a former Supercars champion who successfully transitioned to the NASCAR Cup Series in the 2000s, serves as an important example for van Gisbergen, offering a roadmap for finding success on ovals. Like van Gisbergen, Ambrose was widely regarded for his road course strengths but eventually established himself as a proven contender on American ovals by persistently accumulating experience at these tracks.
Over time, you get better at it, but the guys who have done it since they were eight, or nine or 10, they’re just way up the road.
Ambrose highlights the advantage held by rival drivers who have been steeped in oval racing culture since childhood, a gap that takes years to narrow. To replicate Ambrose’s progress, van Gisbergen has been participating in select NASCAR second division events and regional legends car series, a strategic approach designed to steadily increase his comfort and skill on oval tracks.
Building Experience and Looking Ahead
While van Gisbergen faces a formidable challenge, his commitment to gaining further oval experience outside of Cup Series events signals his dedication to mastering this essential racing discipline. With continued starts in both Cup and other oval-based series across the United States, he is setting the stage for progressive improvements in a highly competitive environment.
As van Gisbergen puts in the miles and builds a more intrinsic understanding of oval nuances—ranging from car setup intricacies to the unique feeling of driving on banking—NASCAR enthusiasts and competitors alike will closely watch how his efforts shape future results. The dual pressure of performing in a global motorsports spotlight and catching up with drivers who have spent a lifetime navigating these tracks adds intensity to van Gisbergen’s journey, but his 2025 season will be remembered not only for his road course victories, but also for his persistence in tackling NASCAR’s oval racing challenges head-on, a task that has tested even the most accomplished international racers.
